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THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OP  CHICAGO  PRESS 
CHICAGO,  ILLINOIS 


THE  BAKER  &  TAYLOR  COMPANY 

MIW  YORK 


THE  CAMBRIDGE  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 

LONDON 

THE  MARUZEN-KABUSHIKI-KAISHA 

TOKYO,  OSAKA,    KYOTO,   rUKUOKA,  SXNDAI 

THE  MISSION  BOOK  COMPANY 

SHANSHAI 


THE 

COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

A  PROBABLE  METHOD 

OF  APPROACH  TO  AND  BASES  FOR 

DENOMINATIONAL  UNITY 


By 
Albert  Clay  Zumbrunnen 


rwm 


^w^ 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CHICAGO  PRESS 
CHICAGO,  ILLINOIS 


^  V    t>  ::>  e> 

I    >  *     *  J- 


Copyright  1922  By 
The  University  of  Chicago 


All  Rights  Reserved 


Published  September  1922 


Composed  and  Printed  By 

The  University  of  Chicago  Press 

Chicago,  Illinois,  U.S.A. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Foreword i 

CHAPTER 

I.  Denominationalism  in  the  United  States  and 
Some  of  Its  Results 5 

II.  Some   of  the   Causes   for  the   Trend   toward 
Denominational  Unity 28 

III.  Some  Concrete  Evidence  of  the  Trend  toward 
Denominational  Unity  since  the  Beginning  of 

the  Nineteenth  Century 41 

IV.  The  Community  Church — ^a  Definition  ...       54 
V.  Types  of  Community  Churches 80 

VI.  Activities  of  Community  Churches  ....       98 

VII.  The    Community    Church   and   Denominational 

Unity 120 

VIII.  How    the    Community    Church    Brings    about 

Denominational  Unity 128 

IX.  The  Method  and  Basis  of  Unity  Found  in  the 
Community  Church  Are  a  Probable  Method  and 
Basis  for  Denominational  Unity     .       .       .       .138 

Appendix  A.    Location  of  Community  Churches   .  145 

Appendix  B.    Bibliography 147 

Index 155 


FOREWORD 

This  study  of  the  community  church  considers  one 
of  the  vital  and  most  important  problems  confronting 
the  church  today,  i.e.,  that  of  denominational  unity.' 
This  problem  is  not  new,  having  been  before  the  church 
for  some  centuries.  Some  incidents  in  connection  with 
the  recent  war  brought  this  problem  into  the  ascend- 
ancy and  made  it  necessary  for  the  church  to  consider 
it  anew. 

American  society  is  passing  through  a  tremendous 
social  revolution.  Many  significant  changes  are  taking 
place.  Among  them  are  the  increasing  urbanization  of 
population;  co-operative  organization  among  farmers; 
widespread  organization  of  labor;  the  movement  for 
profit-sharing  in  business  and  the  democratization  of 
industry;  the  enfranchisement  of  women;  their  entrance 
into  the  professions  of  industry;  the  increase  of  divorce; 
the  increase  of  government  supervision  and  control  of 
industries  and  public  utilities;  the  growth  of  the  spirit 
of  internationalism;  and  the  changing  point  of  view  of 
the  church  from  individual  to  social  salvation.  So 
far-reaching  has  this  revolution  been,  so  great  have  been 
the  changes  in  connection  with  the  war,  that  all  the 
social  institutions  which  have  survived  are  compelled  to 
consider  themselves  anew  in  relation  to  the  present 
existing  social  situation  and  that  of  the  future. 

^  By  denominational  unity  in  this  study  is  meant  not  unity  between 
different  factors  of  a  particular  denomination  itself  or  "unity  of  spirit" 
without  organic  unity  in  the  various  denominations,  but  the  actual 
unity  of  the  various  denominations  into  one  body. 


♦  -  > 


-2-  '    ■    ■  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

Institutions  find  themselves  compelled  to  re-examine 
their  principles,  purposes,  and  methods  of  functioning. 
They  find  themselves  confronted  with  the  fact  that  they 
must  stand  the  test  which  the  present  situation  is  requir- 
ing of  all  social  institutions,  viz.,  whether  they  have 
potential  adaptability  for  adjusting  themselves  to  the 
new  conditions;  whether  they  are  functioning  in  such 
a  way  as  to  be  of  value  to  human  society;  and  whether 
their  functioning  is  effective,  efficient,  and  economical. 

The  church  is  one  of  the  institutions  confronted  with 
this  demand.  It,  with  other  institutions,  is  seeking  to 
adjust  itself  and  meet  the  demands.  This  is  evident 
from  the  large  number  of  church  conferences  that  are 
being  held,  the  investigations  that  are  being  made,  the 
great  constructive  programs  that  are  being  formulated, 
and  the  reorganization  that  the  church  is  undertaking 
in  order  to  carry  out  these  programs. 

This  study  does  not  consider  all  the  new  problems 
confronting  the  church.  It  is  primarily  concerned  with 
the  one  mentioned  above,  viz.,  the  problem  of  the  unity 
of  the  various  religious  denominations.  In  it  are 
involved  the  things  that  have  been  pointed  out  that 
are  presenting  themselves  to  the  various  other  social 
institutions,  i.e.,  adaptation  to  the  new  social  situation 
so  as  to  meet  its  needs  and  to  function  most  economically 
and  efficiently.  The  study  first  considers  in  a  rather 
cursory  way  the  denominational  situation  in  this  country 
and  its  results — the  movement  for  denominational  unity, 
its  causes,  and  some  of  the  things  that  show  a  trend  in 
that  direction.  This  is  done  in  order  to  give  the  proper 
setting  and  to  present  the  background  for  the  more 
extended   study  of   the   community    church,   the  new 


FOREWORD  3 

expression  of  the  movement  for  denominational  unity. 
The  remainder  of  the  study  is  concerned  with  the  origin, 
types,  and  activities  of  community  churches;  how  they 
seek  to  adapt  themselves  to  existing  conditions;  the 
fact  that  denominational  unity  exists  in  them;  how  they 
bring  this  unity  about;  and  the  fact  that  in  this  newly 
evolving  type  of  church  is  to  be  found  a  probable  method 
of  approach  to,  and  a  basis  of  reaching,  denominational 
unity. 


CHAPTER  I 

DENOMINATIONALISM  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 
AND  SOME  OF  ITS  RESULTS 

No  attempt  will  be  made  here  to  present  the  subject 
of  denominationalism  in  an  exhaustive  manner.  The 
cause  for  its  rise  and  its  development  have  been  given 
comprehensive  consideration  by  others.  The  various 
steps  in  the  process  from  the  church  of  one  faith  in  the 
apostolic  days  to  the  present  time  in  which  we  find 
"i6o  different  types  of  faith  "^  and  "201  denominations 
with  the  process  of  division  still  going  on""*  have  like- 
wise been  sought  out  and  set  forth  by  others.  The  same 
is  true  respecting  its  fundamental  principles.  There- 
fore, it  is  not  necessary  to  consider  them  here.  It  is  the 
purpose  of  this  chapter  to  review  in  a  very  summary 
manner  the  denominational  situation  in  this  country 
and  some  of  its  attendant  results. 

The  struggle  for  individuality  of  thought  and  free- 
dom of  expression  and  the  Puritan  spirit  of  independence, 
which  would  not  receive  its  rehgious  sanctions  from 
authority,  or  allow  the  fettering  of  its  soul-liberty  by 
the  shackels  of  state,  were  transplanted  to  America  from 
England  and  the  Continent.  The  Pilgrims,  the  Quakers, 
the  Dutch  and  the  Huguenots,  the  German  and  Scan- 
dinavian, each  brought  a  persuasion  of  the  church  as  the 
abode  of  spiritual  liberty,  and  established  worship  and 

^  Year  Book  of  the  Federal  Council  of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in  America 
(1918),  p.  173- 

2  Men  and  Religion  Forward  Movement,  IV,  7. 


6  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

declared  doctrines  and  practices  consonant  with  this 
great  affirmation.  America  proved  fallow  soil  for 
denominationalism,  and  the  original  denominations  have 
been  proHfic  in  producing  subdivisions.  For  instance, 
the  Lutheran  church  in  this  country  has  2 1  subdivisions 
varying  in  size  from  the  ''Jehovah  Conference"  of  831 
members  to  the  ''Synodical  Conference"  of  777,438,  and 
all  totaling  2,463,265.^  Moveover,  many  new  denomina- 
tions, in  addition  to  those  transplanted  to  this  country, 
have  sprung  up  spontaneously.  To  just  what  extent 
denominational  division  has  gone,  and  the  resulting  con- 
sequences, will  here  be  set  forth,  at  least  in  part. 

One  of  the  results  worthy  of  consideration  is  a  divided 
church.  Primarily,  the  church  is  divided  into  two  great 
sections  or  divisions,  the  Catholic  and  the  Protestant, 
the  former  totaling  15,742,262  members  and  the  latter 
26,302,112.^  Each  of  these  great  divisions  is  again  sub- 
divided. The  former  is  divided  into  three  groups  with 
minor  subdivisions,  the  latter  into  several  major  groups 
some  of  which  have  many  minor  subdivisions,  and  many 
other  independent  minor  groups.  Among  the  major 
Protestant  groups  there  are  six  that  have  a  total  member- 
ship of  over  i,ocK),ooo  each.     They  are  as  follows:^ 


Denomination 

Bodies 

Communicants 

Methodist                      .... 

16 

15 

21 

12 

2 

2 

7,608,284. 

Baptist 

6,  t:s4,i^2 

Lutheran 

2  , 4  tJA ,  ^  •^A 

Presbyterian 

2,171,601 

Disciples 

I ,  '2^7, 41:0 

Protestant  Episcopal 

1,078,43s 

^  Year  Book  of  the  Federal  Council  of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in  America 
(1918),  p.  180.  ^  Ihid.  3  The  American  Year  Booh,  1917. 


DENOMINATIONALISM  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES        7 

Some  of  the  minor  denominations  have  only  a  few 
hundred  members,  such  as  the  Church  of  the  Messianic 
Message  with  a  membership  of  266,  and  the  Jacobite 
Church,  Assyrian,  of  748. 

The  above  clearly  reveals  the  fact  that  the  church  is 
divided.  It  has  been  said  in  this  respect:  "Truly  the 
seamless  robe  of  Christ  has  been  rent  into  countless 
pieces,  and  not  by  the  hands  of  pagan  Roman  soldiers, 
but  by  Christians  themselves."^  Another  has  said: 
"Protestantism  is  divided  and  subdivided  until  it  can- 
not count  its  own  disjecta  members — ^hundreds  of  little 
sects,  so  absurd  in  numbers,  doctrine  and  practice  that 
they  are  a  byword  and  a  contempt.  ""^ 

Not  only  has  the  foregoing  been  the  result  of  denom- 
inationalism,  but  it  has  resulted,  moreover,  in  an  over- 
lapping of  these  denominations  and  of  overchurching 
in  many  communities.  This  is  to  be  found  alike  in  the 
open  country,  small  towns,  and  large  cities.  Evidence 
on  this  point  is  abundant  and  overwhelming.  Surveys 
have  been  made  in  many  states  widely  separated,  show- 
ing that  these  are  not  characteristics  pecuUar  to  any 
part  of  the  country,  but  common  to  all  sections  of  it. 
The  author  found  specific  citations  of  many  instances  in 
books  and  periodicals.  Others  have  come  under  his 
personal  observation.  A  few  of  the  many  examples 
follow. 

In  a  rural  community  in  Juanita  County,  Pennsyl- 
vania, there  are  eight  churches  in  a  community  of  662 
people,  or  eighty-three  persons  to  a  church.^    In  another 

^  Men  and  Religion  Forward  Movement,  IV,  9. 

3  Anna  B.  Taft,  Community  Study  for  Country  Districts. 


8  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

section  of  the  same  state,  a  farming  region,  there  are 
twenty-four  country  churches  within  a  radius  of  four  miles 
from  a  given  point;  within  a  three-mile  radius  from  a  point 
half  a  mile  farther  on  there  are  sixteen  country  churches. 

Of  this  situation  it  has  been  said:  "Of  course  this  is 
an  impossible  social  situation :  whatever  be  its  doctrinal 
value,  it  is  a  form  of  social  inefficiency."^ 

The  following  is  descriptive  of  the  situation  in  Massa- 
chusetts in  respect  to  overlapping: 

Where  should  consolidation  be  made  ?  We  reply:  Wherever 
two  or  more  churches  drawing  from  a  population,  which  could 
attend  either,  find  that  separately  they  are  unable  to  maintain 
their  work  on  a  scale  required  by  the  conditions  of  the  community, 
or  that  they  inevitably  compete  so  that  they  cannot  grow  except 
at  the  expense  of  each  other. 

Such  is  the  condition  of  a  large  proportion  of  our  smaller 
communities.  In  one  entire  county  we  found  that  there  is  actually 
one  church  for  every  295  inhabitants.  So  obvious  is  the  need 
that  in  a  score  of  places,  during  the  past  year,  the  question  of 
consolidation  has  been  raised  locally.^ 

At  Dover,  Kansas,  with  a  population  of  200,  there 
are  three  churches  with  three  different  ministers,  one 
giving  all  and  the  other  two  half  of  their  time.  In 
Cowgill,  Missouri,  the  author's  home  town  for  a  number 
of  years,  a  village  of  less  than  500  people,  there  were  at 
one  time  five  churches:  a  Baptist,  Disciples  of  Christ, 
Methodist  Episcopal,  Methodist  Episcopal  South,  and 
Presbyterian. 

Another  case  of  overlapping  is  set  forth  as  follows: 

In  a  territory  approximately  eleven  miles  square  boasting 
but  one  village  and  that  of  fewer  than  700  people,  no  less  than 

'  Charles  L.  Cole,  Survey ^  XXXI,  327-28. 

2  Bulletin  No.  i,  New  Series,  Massachusetts  Federation  of  Churches. 


DENOMINATIONALISM  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES        9 

twenty-four  churches  representing  eleven  denominations  were 
built.  And  as  is  too  often  true,  no  small  part  of  their  energy  was 
spent  in  sectarian  contention  resulting  largely  in  a  struggle  for 
individual  church  supremacy.  The  program  of  the  four  churches 
in  the  village  was  typical  of  nearly  all  twenty-four.  By  means 
foul  or  fair,  by  peace  or  contention,  to  build  members  in  the  church 
membership  for  the  church's  sake  was  the  object  and  end  of 
so-called  Christian  Labor.^ 

Overchurching  in  California  has  been  described  in 
this  manner: 

We  are  cursed  with  the  overchurching  of  small  towns,  520 
people  need  five  churches,  416  need  four  churches,  21  require 
two  churches,  212  people  are  cursed  with  four  churches,  while  37 
require  two  churches  to  minister  to  their  peculiar  needs.  It 
requires  seventeen  churches  to  minister  to  these  1,400  people  all 
in  one  county.  Of  these  Seventeen  churches  three  are  in  a  way 
self-supporting  and  yet  each  of  these  requires  that  their  pastor 
secure  some  of  his  wages  from  other  fields,  and  were  it  not  for  this 
every  church  in  the  district  would  be  on  the  Missionary  Societies 
of  the  different  denominations,  cursed  by  a  narrow  sectarianism 
that  would  damn  the  world  if  it  is  not  to  be  saved  in  some  set 
way  .2 

In  the  state  of  New  York,  the  following  instances  of 
overchurching  have  been  reported: 

In  the  hamlet  of  S.  are  a  Methodist  Church  of  32  members, 
an  Episcopal  of  23  and  a  Universalist  of  17.  The  village  of  C. 
supports  two  Baptist  organizations  and  three  Methodists,  totaling 
227  Communicants.  In  the  town  of  W.  are  three  folds  of  com- 
bined membership  of  53.  In  thirty-five  towns  of  adjoining  coun- 
ties, there  are  fifty-two  churches  with  not  over  fifty  communicants 
each,  while  three  report  a  membership  respectively  of  9,  8,  and  5. 
It  has  been  said  of  the  foregoing  situation  that  the  conclusion  is 
irresistible.    In  these  four  counties  the  churches  generally  are 

^  Charles  L.  Cole,  loc.  cit. 

^  Rural  Manhood  J  VIII,  221-22. 


lO  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

small.     Most  of  the  fifty-two  should  cease  to  be,  after  having 
thrown  their  weight  where  it  would  do  the  most  good.^ 

A  minister  recently  reported  in  a  conference  at 
Chicago  that  the  first  charge  he  had  after  leaving  semi- 
nary was  in  a  certain  Wisconsin  town  of  1,500  people  in 
which  there  were  nine  different  churches  representative  of 
as  many  denominations.  In  Blair,  Nebraska,  with  a 
population  of  2,500,  there  are  twelve  church  buildings 
and  two  other  reUgious  organizations  that  do  not  have 
buildings.^ 

Another  citation  of  overlapping  is  set  forth  as  follows: 

This  religious  information  as  obtained  in  Bellville,  a  quiet 
representative  Kansas  county  seat  town  with  a  population  of 
2,300  people,  may  be  regarded  as  typical  of  communities  of  this 
size  in  the  west.  In  the  first  place,  the  study  shows  that  there 
are  too  many  church  organizations.  There  are  nine  organizations, 
six  of  which  have  buildings  and  five  have  regular  services.  In  the 
six  church  plants  the  community  has  invested  $38,316  and  is 
paying  annually  to  its  ministers  a  total  of  $5,040,  with  total  current 
expenses  of  $9,932.  This  expenditure  of  $40,000  in  buildings  and 
equipment  and  the  annual  outlay  of  $io,oop  indicate  a  generous 
investment  and  should  yield  good  retums.3 

The  results  of  this  "generous  investment '^  were  an 
average  attendance  of  597  at  all  churches  on  Sunday 
mornings,  or  25  per  cent  of  the  population,  and  that 
only  49  per  cent  of  it  were  members  of  the  church. 

Another  typical  instance  is  that  of  a  small  western 
city  of  1,347  inhabitants.  It  has  eight  different  denom- 
inations and  seven  church  buildings,  Methodist,  Baptist, 
Congregational,  and  Episcopal,  to  the  value  of  $21,300, 

^  Fred  W.  Palmer,  Bihlothaca  Sacra,  LXXIV,  460. 

2  Roy  B.  Guild,  Rural  Manhood,  October,  19 16. 

3  Ernest  W.  Burgess,  Rural  Manhood,  January,  19 18. 


DENOMINATIONALISM  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES      il 

of  which  $3,450  was  subscribed  by  mission  boards.  Of 
this  amount,  $8,400  lies  absolutely  idle  and  worthless. 
Three  of  the  churches,  Methodist,  Congregational,  and 
Baptist,  were  erected  before  1880,  at  which  time  the 
American  population  numbered  only  420  persons.' 

A  survey  made  in  a  rural  section  of  a  part  of  Ohio 
that  included  1,200  townships  revealed  some  striking 
examples  of  overchurching.  The  average  population 
of  these  townships  was  1,470,  and  there  were  6,000 
churches  in  them,  making  on  an  average  286  persons  per 
church.  In  the  rural  part  of  this  state  there  are  more 
than  4,000  churches  having  a  membership  of  one  hundred 
or  less,  3,000  of  seventy-five  or  less,  and  more  than  2,000 
a  membership  of  fifty  or  less.  In  most  of  the  communi- 
ties several  churches  are  trying  to  do  what  one  church 
could  do  more  effectively,  if  left  to  itself.  It  has  been 
found,  as  a  rule,  that  churches  whose  membership  is 
less  than  one  hundred  do  not  prosper,  while  the  smaller 
the  number  the  greater  the  proportion  of  churches  which 
are  dying. 

If  the  statement  is  true  that  churches  of  less  than 
one  hundred  members  do  not  prosper,  and  this  study 
discovered  abundant  evidence  to  that  effect,  another 
striking  illustration  of  overchurching  is  revealed  in  the 
Lane  County,  Oregon,  Survey: 

The  history  of  the  religious  life  of  Lane  County,  Oregon,  shows 
many  exceptionally  poor  guesses  in  the  establishing  of  churches. 
Practically  one  out  of  every  five  churches  established  has  for  one 
reason  or  another  been  allowed  to  lapse,  while  many  of  those 
which  still  have  the  name  to  live  are  without  any  clear  hope  of 
future  strength.    All  told,  there  are  twenty-four  dead  and  aban- 

^  Albert  J.  Kennedy,  Independent  (April  9,  1908),  p.  796. 


12  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

doned  churches  whose  traces  are  still  visible  in  the  county.  This 
is-  an  astonishing  number  when  one  considers  how  recent  the 
development  of  the  county  is.  Thirteen  of  these  twenty-four 
abandoned  churches  were  established  as  competing  churches  in 
territories  where  the  resources,  either  present  or  future,  did  not 
permit  of  this  division  of  religious  interests.     The  other  eleven 

died  because  they  were  very  poorly  placed 

There  is  food  for  thought  in  the  fact  that  seventeen  churches, 
fifteen  living,  two  dead,  have  been  organized  in  the  last  ten  years 
in  pre-emptied  fields.  These  were  without  opposition  organized 
as  competing  churches.  They  were  without  exception  wholly 
unneeded  and  they  have  without  exception  hindered  the  religious 
work  in  their  respective  communities.^ 

This  survey  furthermore  showed  that  in  spite  of  the 
fact  that  a  number  of  churches  in  the  large  towns  had 
a  membership  of  respectable  size,  out  of  forty-eight,  the 
total  number  in  the  county  which  were  in  divided  fields, 
thirty-five  had  a  membership  of  less  than  fifty,  seven 
of  these  had  less  than  ten  members  each,  and  eleven 
others  had  less  than  twenty  members  each.  To  main- 
tain eighteen  competitive  churches  which  have  less  than 
twenty  members  each,  to  say  nothing  of  eleven  others 
which  have  less  than  fifty  members  each,  would  seem 
to  be  in  a  high  degree  absurd. 

There  were  105  church  organizations  in  the  county 
with  a  total  membership  of  3,814,  or  an  average  of 
thirty-six  members  per  church.  A  study  of  ninety  of 
the  organized  churches  showed  that  nineteen  of  them 
had  ten  or  less  members,  twenty  had  eleven  to  twenty 
members,  thirty-one  had  twenty-one  to  fifty  members, 
eight  had  fifty-one  to  one  hundred  members,  and  twelve 
had  one  hundred  and  over. 

'  Ayers  and  Morse,  Survey  Lane  County,  Oregon,  p.  40. 


DENOMINATIONALISM  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES      13 

The  foregoing  would  go  far  toward  confirming  the 
following  statement  of  overchurching  in  the  rural  sec- 
tions at  least.  ''It  [the  church]  has  gone  on  wastefuUy 
multiplying  church  buildings  until  today  we  have,  in 
the  Middle  West  and  South,  at  least,  four  churches  where 
there  is  support  for  but  one." 

This  brief  and  partial  presentation  of  the  situation 
as  to  overlapping  and  overchurching  shows  how  wide- 
spread it  is.  It  likewise  suggests  that  the  problems 
involved  are  of  fundamental  importance.  The  whole 
situation  has  been  tersely  put  as  follows : 

How  to  do  away  with  superfluous  churches  is  a  problem  that 
must  be  faced.  It  comes  near  being  the  most  difficult  religious 
problem  in  the  land  of  sectarian  enterprise. 

The  situation  and  scandal  of  it  are  notorious.  In  almost 
every  hamlet  and  crossroad  are  found  little  churches  with  no 
visible  reason  for  existence,  except  denominational  stubbornness 
or  factions  of  the  fathers.  They  violate  dictates  of  economy  and 
efficiency,  belittle  the  big  religion  of  Jesus  and  the  apostolic  ideal 
of  the  church.^ 

There  is  yet  another  side  to  the  shield  of  denomina- 
tionalism.  It  not  only  results  in  the  overlapping  of 
churches  in  some  territories,  but  it  likewise  results  in 
the  overlooking  of  other  territories.  While  there  is 
not  as  much  of  the  latter  as  the  former,  it  is,  neverthe- 
less, quite  extensive.  It  quite  frequently  occurs  that 
both  of  these  conditions  exist  side  by  side.  The  situa- 
tion at  and  near  Fairview,  Pennsylvania,  is  typical  of 
the  latter.  There  are  to  be  found  in  this  village  of  700 
people  the  following  churches:  a  Methodist,  Presby- 
terian, EvangeHcal   (Association)  Lutheran,  Episcopal, 

^  Fred  W.  Palmer,  op.  cit.,  p.  45Q. 


14  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

and  one-half  mile  outside  of  it  a  Disciples  church.  Out- 
side of  the  village  area  there  is  a  territory  of  a  radius  of 
four  miles  that  is  entirely  without  any  religious  agency.' 

Many  other  instances  of  overlooking  or  religious 
destitution  are  to  be  found.  The  surveys  made  under 
the  Men  and  Religion  Forward  Movement  reveal  many 
striking  examples.  The  situation  in  this  respect,  as 
discovered  by  actual  school-district  surveys,  is  described 
as  accumulating  and  appalling.  The  strictly  rural 
regions  are  fearfully  neglected.  In  one  state  investi- 
gated, 60,000  to  70,000  of  the  population  were  reported 
as  Hving  five  miles  or  more  from  a  church.^  One  rich 
valley,  fifty-four  miles  from  a  railroad,  with  a  popula- 
tion of  5,000,  capable  of  supporting  50,000  people,  has 
but  one  church.  Another  county  has  a  purely  rural 
population  of  18,000,  yet  only  two  or  three  of  the  sixty- 
five  school  districts  have  regular  services.  Literally 
thousands  of  foreigners  in  all  of  the  states  surveyed 
never  hear  the  word  of  God.  It  was  reported  that 
"young  people  Hve  to  maturity  and  die,  within  thirty 
miles  of  San  Francisco,  with  no  reHgious  privileges. '' 
In  Idaho  there  is  one  county  with  twenty-eight  school 
districts  which  has  only  one  resident  preacher  and  but 
four  preaching  places.  Another  county  has  but  one 
preaching  station,  notwithstanding  it  has  a  population 
of  10,000.  Another  county  in  the  same  state,  having 
a  population  of  18,000,  has  only  four  regular  religious 
services. 

Not  only  is  there  overlooking  in  the  sense  that  there 
are  churchless  communities,  but  also  in  the  sense  that 

^  Walter  E.  Meyers,  Secretary  Y.M.C.A.,  Erie,  Pa. 
'  Men  and  Religion  Forward  Movement,  IV,  32. 


DENOMINATIONALISM  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES       15 

many  churches  are  pastorless,  and  therefore  the  com- 
munity is  overlooked.  The  situation  in  Maine  in  1900 
is  not  altogether  unusual,  there  being  282  pastorless 
churches  in  its  rural  districts.  It  could  be  duplicated 
in  other  states.  For  instance,  in  1916,  there  were  700 
churches  in  rural  Ohio  that  had  no  services.^ 

There  is  also  overlooking  in  the  sense  that  some 
churches  have  only  part-time  services  and  many  do 
not  have  resident  pastors.  The  situation  in  Ohio  is 
illustrative  of  this  point.  Nearly  4,000,  or  two-thirds, 
of  the  churches  in  the  rural  sections  of  the  state  are 
without  resident  pastors.  In  26  per  cent  of  the  town- 
ships no  church  has  a  resident  pastor.  More  than  5,000 
of  the  churches  are  without  the  undivided  services  of  a 
minister;  more  than  2,200  such  churches  have  only  one- 
fourth  of  a  minister's  services,  or  less;  and  3,300  have 
one-third  of  a  minister's  services,  or  less.^  The  situa- 
tion in  this  country  as  to  denominational  overlapping 
and  overlooking  is  seemingly  well  set  forth  in  the  follow- 
ing quotation: 

In  home  mission  fields  there  is  both  overlapping  and  overlook- 
ing. Many  fields  have  been  denominationally  over  cultivated, 
while  many  others  have  been  utterly  neglected.  The  amount  of 
overlapping  may  be  exaggerated,  but  while  there  is  any,  there  is 
too  much.  Certainly  the  overlooking  has  not  been  over  estimated. 
The  "Neglected  field  surveys"  are  just  beginning  to  make  known 
the  yast  areas  of  country  which  are  as  destitute  religiously  as  are 
the  jungles  of  Africa. ^ 

That  these  conditions  are  due  in  a  large  measure  to 
denominationahsm,  to  "the  unregulated  competition  of 

^  C.  O.  Gill,  Proceedings  of  the  American  Sociological  Society  (1916), 

p.  Il'2. 

'  Men  and  Religion  Forward  Movement,  IV,  31.       3  Ihid.,  pp.  12-13. 


l6  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

the  great  national  and  international  Protestant  bodies, " 
is  becoming  well  recognized,  but  these  bodies  through 
their  national  and  state  missionary  organizations  and 
otherwise  are  seeking  to  ameHorate  the  situation.  Prob- 
ably the  most  outstanding  organization  in  this  respect 
is  the  Federal  Council  of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in  Amer- 
ica, which  is  pushing  to  the  limit  the  practice  of  federa- 
tion and  comity  between  the  denominations  composing 
it.  The  next  of  importance,  probably,  is  the  Home 
Missionary  Council  organized  in  1909,  which  includes 
in  its  membership  the  leading  home  mission  boards  and 
societies  in  the  United  States.  In  many  states  similar 
state  organizations  have  been  formed,  notably  in  Wash- 
ington and  Ohio,  whose  purposes  are  inter  church  and 
interdenominational  co-operation  in  order  to  readjust 
their  activities  so  as  to  prevent  both  overlapping  and 
overlooking  and  also  the  readjustment  of  the  church 
life  to  community  welfare  and  the  elimination  of  waste. 

A  companion  result  of  denominationalism  to  the 
foregoing  is  that  of  waste.  The  following  makes  this 
quite  evident:  "It  involves  a  deplorable  waste  of  power, 
as  when  we  see  in  a  small  town  of  1,500  people  eleven 
different  church  buildings  and  church  organizations."^ 

A  situation  of  this  kind  involves  waste  both  of  money 
and  man  power.    As  Ashenhurst  says : 

Different  denominations  operating  in  the  same  territory  divide 
the  forces  and  resources  of  the  community.  Each  denomination 
requires  the  full  machinery  of  a  church — buildings  and  equipment, 
pastor  and  other  necessary  expenses.  The  results,  in  many  cases, 
are  not  equal  to  the  expense  involved  .^ 

'  Men  and  Religion  Forward  Movement,  IV,  12-13. 

'  J.  O.  Ashenhurst,  The  Day  of  the  Country  Church,  p.  108. 


DENOMINATIONALISM  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES      17 

This  point  is  further  estabHshed  by  the  situation 
discovered  by  the  survey  made  of  Lane  County,  Oregon. 
This  report  states  that  96  of  the  105  churches  in  the 
county  had  difficulty  in  raising  necessary  funds.  Only 
9  were  able  to  finance  their  work  without  special 
difficulty.  The  budget  raised  locally  by  seventeen 
parishes  having  forty-seven  points,  had  to  be  supple- 
mented by  an  annual  missionary  appropriation  of 
$3,390.  Of  this  amount  $2,185  was  given  to  churches 
which  were  located  in  communities  having  more  than 
one  church.^ 

In  a  bulletin  issued  by  the  Massachusetts  Federation 
of  Churches  on  The  Consolidation  of  Churches:  Why  and 
UowP  the  following  statement  occurs,  which  is  to  the 
point  under  immediate  consideration: 

The  waste  of  maintaining  several  churches  where  one  could 
serve  the  population,  is  obvious,  in  the  erection  and  maintenance 
of  buildings,  salaries,  etc.  Especially  is  it  wasteful  to  ask  several 
trained  men  each  to  speak  to  a  handful;  for  it  is  easier  to  preach 
to  200  than  to  50,  and  the  same  sermon  to  the  larger  number  is 
much  more  effective.     Such  duplication  is  always  maintained  at 

a  cost  of  somebody An  investigation  of  the  100  smallest 

towns  in  Massachusetts  classified  as  one,  two,  and  three  church 
towns,  has  demonstrated  that  the  per  capita  cost  to  members  and 
citizens  increases  out  of  proportion  to  the  results.^ 

The  foregoing  bulletin  shows  that  overchurching 
results  in  a  ''cost"  to  the  ministers  as  well  as  to  the 
lay  members.  This  is  considered  a  very  serious  matter, 
since  salaries  at  the  time  of  the  report  were  not  adequate 
and,  moreover,  have  not  since  then  kept  pace  with  the 

'  Ayer  and  Morse,  op.  cit.,  p.  4. 

'  Bulletin  No.  i,  New  Series,  second  edition,  January,  1914. 

^Ibid.,  p.  2. 


i8 


THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 


increasing  cost  of  living.  It  was  found  that  at  the  time 
of  the  investigation  the  average  minister's  salary  in  a 
town  of  one  church  was  $874.00;  in  a  two-church  town, 
$687.00;  and  in  a  three-church  town,  $473.00. 

Further  evidence  to  the  point  that  overchurching 
costs  the  minister  is  to  be  found  in  the  accompanying  table 
which  shows  the  situation  as  to  the  salary  of  the  fifty- 
four  ministers  of  Lane  County,  Oregon.^ 


Salary 

FuU-Time 
Ministers 

Part-Time 
Ministers 

Receiving  salary  of: 
%        0 . 00 

8 

250.00. 

I 

5 
8 

7 
2 
2 

II 

251.00  to  $     500.00 

501.00  to         750.00 

751.00  to    1,000.00 

1 ,001  00  and  over  . . 

8 
2 

Amount  of  salary  unknown 

Total 

^5 

29 

This  table  indicates  that  twenty-nine  of  these  min- 
isters combined  their  ministry  with  some  other  kind 
of  employment.  It  is  stated  that  the  twenty-five  full- 
time  ministers  received  an  average  salary  of  $665.00, 
clearly  an  underliving  wage.  This  would  indicate  that 
overchurching  results  in  a  real  cost  to  the  ministry,  and 
that  the  comment  on  the  situation  that  *'in  various 
instances  the  maintenance  of  existing  arrangements  is 
justifiable  only  on  the  most  narrowly  denominational 
grounds'"'  is  correct. 

The  foregoing  statement  that  overchurching  results 
in  waste  on  account  of  the  erection  and  maintenance  of 

*  Ayer  and  Morse,  op.  cit.,  p.  66.  ^  Ibid.,  p.  64. 


DENOMINATIONALISM  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES      19 

buildings^  is  made  evident  by  that  which  follows,  which, 
although  giving  the  situation  of  over  a  decade  ago,  would 
probably  be  comparatively  true  now. 

Our  population  in  round  numbers  is  93,000,000  while  the  total 
Protestant  and  Roman  Catholic  church  membership  is  36,000,000. 
The  total  seating  capacity  of  all  Protestant  and  Roman  Catholic 
edifices  in  1906  was  58,536,830.  The  rate  of  increase  in  seating 
capacity  and  population  has  been  about  the  same.  On  any  given 
Sunday  only  70  per  cent  of  our  total  population  could  be  accom- 
modated with  our  church  seating.  There  are  Protestant  sittings 
for  53,250,000  whUe  the  total  Protestant  church  membership  is 
22,000,000.  The  average  seating  capacity  of  the  Protestant 
churches  is  three  times  that  of  the  average  membership,  while  in 
Roman  Catholic  churches  the  average  membership  is  two  and 
one-fourth  times  the  seating  capacity .^ 

This  statement  presents  the  fact  that  the  Protestant 
churches  of  this  country  have  six  and  three  quarters 
times  as  much  seating  capacity  per  member  as  the 
Catholic  churches.  From  this  it  is  quite  evident  that 
denominationahsm,  which  is  the  cause  of  over  churching, 
results  in  waste  and  lack  of  economy. 

A  previously  mentioned  bulletin^  points  out,  further- 
more, that  overchurching  results  in  waste  to  the  mission 
boards.  It  points  out  that  in  100  churches  covered  by 
a  survey  in  Massachusetts  the  average  outside  aid 
required  in  the  one-church  towns  was  $15.00  and  in  the 
three-church  towns  $155.00  per  year,  or  ten  times  as 
much.    Another  points  out: 

There  is  a  growing  belief  among  the  Christian  people  of  this 
country  that  the  time  is  ripe  for  a  greater  working  unity  between 

^  See  p.  14.  *  Men  and  Religion  Forward  Movement,  IV,  23-24. 

3  Bulletin  No.  i,  New  Series,  Massachusetts  Federation  of  Churches, 
p.  3- 


20 


THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 


the  English  speaking  Evangelistical  denominations.  Among  the 
facts  which  enforce  this  view  there  is  none  stronger  than  the  evi- 
dent overlapping,  waste  and  consequent  extravagance  that  has 
distinguished  the  distribution  of  some  of  the  mission  funds  sub- 
scribed for  the  advancement  of  the  religious  life  of  the  west.^ 

As  a  striking  illustration  of  this  point  he  gives  the 
following  table  which  shows  the  expenditure  of  mission- 
ary boards  of  the  Methodist,  Congregational,  Baptist, 
and  Episcopal  churches  in  a  town  some  miles  west  of 
Minneapolis,  Minnesota,  having  a  total  population  of 
1,347,  of  whom  475  were  of  American  descent.  The 
missionary  appropriations  were  for  churches  of  the  latter 
group. 


Aid  and  Salary 

Cong. 

Meth. 

Bap. 

Episc. 

Total  missionary  aid 

$10,504 
292 
800 
600 

$3,700 

115 

700 
550 

$3,100 
104 
600 
447 

$850 

Average  yearly  missionary  aid            .    . 

IQi? 

Average  salary  of  minister 

"JO 

Average  church  subscription  for  salary.  . 

383 

Summarized  for  the  Town 

Total  missionary  funds  used  in  town $17,962 

Average  missionary  aid  per  year  (since  town  was  founded) 534 

Town's  average  subscription  for  religious  services i ,  500 

Average  membership 133 

The  situation  may  be  better  realized  by  the  further 
information  that  at  the  time  the  investigation  was  made 
only  two  of  the  churches  were  having  services,  and  one 
of  those  semimonthly,  and  the  total  membership  was 
eighty-three.  The  existing  church  buildings  were 
erected  at  a  cost  of  $21,300,  the  mission  boards  con- 
tributing $3,450  of  this  sum,  and  of  the  total  value  of 
the  buildings  $7,400  lay  absolutely  idle   and  useless. 

« Albert  J.  Kennedy,  op.  ciL,  LXIV,  795. 


DENOMINATIONALISM  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES      21 

The  investigator  makes  the  following  caustic  comment 
respecting  the  foregoing  situation:  "Such  a  condition 
as  that  outlined  above  brings  religion  into  discredit  in 
the  community,  causes  many  to  scoff  at  the  church; 
takes  the  heart  out  of  the  zealous  lay  workers;  and 
makes  it  difficult  for  a  minister  of  religion  to  hold  up 
his  head."^  He  furthermore  says  in  this  connection  that 
"The  state  of  affairs  in  this  town  is  not  an  unusual  one, 
and  is  paralleled  in  a  number  of  nearby  places/'^  And 
that 

a  pressing  need  is  for  a  union  of  missionary  societies  for 
the  purpose  of  weeding  out  dead  churches  where  the  evident 
misjudgment  of  the  past  has  overworked  a  field,  the  sanity  of  the 

present  should  do  what  it  can  to  remedy  the  fault Certain 

it  is  that  one  of  the  next  great  religious  advancements  must  be 
toward  the  unification  of  religious  work  for  the  purpose  of  elimi- 
nating waste. 3 

Not  a  great  deal  has  actually  been  done  to  meet 
this  "pressing  need."  It  is  true  that  several  states  now 
have  interdenominational  missionary  boards,  committees 
on  interchurch  co-operation  to  assist  in  the  readjust- 
ment of  the  church  life  to  community  welfare,  and  state 
federations  which  are  considering  this  whole  matter  of 
overlapping  and  overlooking,^  waste  and  inefficiency 
that  results  from  denominationalism,  but  not  much  has 
actually  been  accomplished  in  a  concrete  way.  The 
situation  in  this  respect  just  at  present  is  well  sum- 
marized in  the  following: 

Movements  for  the  federation  of  Protestant  church  agencies 
have  succeeded  in  formulating  ideals  and  standards  to  which 

^  Ihid.,  p.  799.  3  ihid.,  p.  799. 

2  Ihid.,  p.  795.  4  See  chap.  ii. 


22  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

denominational  bodies  subscribe  and  which  their  foreign  and 
home  missionary  agencies  accept.  But  locally  in  cities  and 
suburbs,  in  towns  and  villages,  with  a  few  notable  exceptions, 
the  disastrous  competition  or  non-cooperative  deadlock  prevails.^ 

Not  only  does  denominationalism  result  in  the  waste 
of  money  and  men,  but  also  in  moral  powers,  finer 
emotions,  and  religious  enthusiasm.  This  has  been 
pointed  out  by  probably  the  best-informed  churchman 
in  this  country  as  follows: 

Meanwhile  one  of  the  most  startling  discoveries  is  that  we 
have  created  our  human  power  and,  as  our  legislation  witnesses, 

we  have  been  criminally  prodigal  with  human  life But 

these  are  not  an  intimation  of  the  worst  of  our  dissipations,  and 
indeed,  these  wastes  have  been  largely  because  of  a  deeper  and 
more  serious  prodigality.  We  have  let  the  very  light  within  us 
become  darkness  and  the  saddest  of  all  has  been  the  waste  of  our 
moral  powers,  our  finer  emotions,  and  our  religious  enthusiasms, 
through  sectarian  divisions,  denominational  rivalries  and  unre- 
strained caprice  often  deluding  itself  as  a  religious  loyalty.^ 

There  is  another  result  of  denominationalism  which 
was  discovered  by  this  study  that  is  of  vital  importance. 
It  is  religious  inefficiency.  This  has  been  intimated, 
suggested,  and  even  definitely  stated  before.  It  is  of 
such  great  importance  that  it  will  be  given  more  definite 
consideration  at  this  point.  In  this  respect  it  has  been 
said  that  the  pitiful  thing  about  our  sectarianism  is  not 
so  much  that  the  church  is  broken  up  into  so  many 
separate  units,  but  that  the  disunity  of  organization 
results  in  religious  inefficiency.^ 

^Survey,XXXYII,727' 

2  Charles  S.  Macfarland,  Christian  Union  Quarterly,  VII,  35-36. 

3  Kenyon  L.  Butterfield,  The  Country  Church  and  the  Rural  Problem, 
p.  115. 


DENOMINATIONALISM  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES      23 

A  survey  made  of  Windsor  County,  Ohio,  substan- 
tiates the  last  contention  somewhat.  It  shows  that  in 
the  smaller  communities  the  more  numerous  the  churches 
the  greater  the  loss  has  been  in  attendance  in  the  last 
twenty  years.  Another  statement  from  the  same  source 
says: 

This  fact  refutes  the  old  plea  that  denominational  rivalry 
stimulated  the  churches  to  efficiency.  Thus  in  the  small  counties 
with  only  one  church  there  has  been  a  loss  of  total  attendance  of 
thirty  per  cent  in  twenty  years  while  in  the  small  communities 
with  two  churches  there  was  a  loss  of  fifty  per  cent  and  where 
there  were  more  than  two  churches  a  loss  of  fifty-five  per  cent.' 

This  condition  is  not  peculiar  to  Ohio,  but  it  is  wide- 
spread. In  eight  counties  in  Pennsylvania,  investiga- 
tion revealed  that  24  per  cent  of  the  churches  were 
losing  ground,  26  per  cent  are  standing  still,  and  only 
50  per  cent  are  making  any  headway  at  all. 

That  conditions  are  not  different  in  the  western 
sections  of  the  United  States  is  evident  from  the  follow- 
ing table,  which  shows  the  situation  of  ninety  of  the 
churches  in  Lane  County,  Oregon:^ 

Churches  showing  a  net  loss  for  the  year 24 

Churches  breaking  even  for  the  year 29 

Churches  with  net  gain  of  less  than  5  per  cent . .     3 

Churches  with  net  gain  of  5  to  10  per  cent 8 

Churches  with  net  gain  of  more  than  10  per  cent  26 

Stated    otherwise,    the    net    gain    of    the    competitive 
churches  was  on  an  average  of  2.3  persons  per  church, 

^  C.  O.  Gill  and  Clififord  Pinchot,  Survey  of  Windsor  County,  Ohio, 
P-7S. 

'  Arthur  J.  Todd,  Proceedings  of  the  National  Conference  of  Social 
Work  (1917),  p.  626. 


24  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

while  the  net  gam  of  the  non-competitive  was  on  an 
average  of  four  persons  per  church,  or  7.3  and  14.2  per 
cent  respectively. 

The  following  table  for  the  same  territory,  but  cover- 
ing a  longer  period  than  one  year,  shows  still  more 
plainly  the  fact  that  denominationalism  results  in 
inefficiency: 


Non-competitive  Churches 

Competitive  Churches 

No.  of         Percentage 
Churches     of  Total  No. 

No.  of 
Churches 

Percentage 
of  Total  No. 

22                58.0 

5 

Increase           20.8 

13               34-2 

5 

Stationary       20.8 

3               7.8 

14 

24 

Decreasing      58.4 

38           100. 0 

100. 0 

The  importance  of  the  inefficiency  caused  by  denom- 
inationalism in  the  country  churches  is  seen  not  only 
in  its  effect  upon  the  rural  communities,  but  when  seen 
in  its  wider  relations.  To  get  the  full  significance  of  it, 
it  must  be  considered  in  its  relation  to  the  city  com- 
munities and  society  at  large  for  there  are  very  important 
and  vital  social  relationships  between  city  and  rural 
communities. 

Their  interactions  are  such  that  whatever  makes  for 
good  or  bad,  for  the  efficiency  or  the  inefficiency,  of  the 
one  affects  the  other  likewise.  If  the  country  churches 
do  not  function  effectively,  the  cities  suffer  as  well  as 
the  country.  This  is  clearly  brought  out  in  the 
following: 

The  influence  of  the  country  upon  the  city  is  an  important 
factor  in  the  making  of  the  opportunity  of  the  church  of  the  rural 
districts.  The  strongest  forces  making  for  righteousness  in  the 
cities  have  their  origin  in  the  country.  The  canvass  of  100 
prominent  men  in  one  of  our  great  cities  showed  that  eighty-five 


DENOMINATION ALISM  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES      25 

per  cent  of  the  lawyers,  bankers,  merchants  and  journalists  were 
brought  up  in  the  country.  City  pastors  testify  that  the  best 
members  of  their  churches  have  been  trained  in  the  country 
churches/ 

And  in  another  instance  the  same  writer  says:  ''It  is 
said  that  the  country  churches  furnish  five-sixths  of  our 
ministers  and  five-sevenths  of  our  professors.'"' 

While  in  many  instances  the  evidence  was  not  so 
abundant  and  convincing  that  denominationalism  caused 
inefficiency  of  city  churches,  nevertheless  it  was  cum- 
ulative and  convincing  in  this  respect  also.  The  fol- 
lowing is  quite  to  the  point: 

When  we  examine  the  efficiency  methods  of  the  church,  no 
lengthy  investigation  is  needed  to  show  that  there  is  serious  waste 
in  the  duplication  of  work.  There  are  communities  where  five 
churches  are  working  in  a  field  that  could  better  be  served  by  two, 
or  perhaps  by  one.  The  community  builds  five  churches  and 
then  tries  to  maintain  those  five  buildings  and  support  five  pastors, 
when  two  churches  and  two  pastors,  or  perhaps  one  church  and 
one  pastor  could  minister  to  the  community  with  equal  efficiency 
and  certainly  with  far  less  friction.3 

The  author  of  the  foregoing  says  of  his  own  town 
that  there  are  twenty-three  congregations  having  their 
own  buildings  and  their  own  ministers.  Moreover,  there 
are  four  or  five  other  religious  organizations  that  hold 
meetings  in  halls  or  in  private  homes.  He  further 
states  that  it  is  evident  that  no  such  number  of  churches 
are  required,  and  that  six  or  eight  would  be  a  generous 
estimate  of  the  number  actually  needed.^  This  situa- 
tion is  typical  of  a  vast  number  of  others. 

^  J.  O.  Ashenhurst,  op.  ciL,  p.  17.  ^  Ibid.,  p.  231. 

3  David  Littell  McNary,  Ladies'  Home  Journal  (June,  19 18),  p.  33. 

<  David  Littell  McNary,  Freeport,  111.,  First  Presbyterian  Church. 


26  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

Another  situation  clearly  to  the  point  came  under 
personal  observation  in  making  this  study.  The  head 
resident  of  one  of  the  leading  social  settlements  in 
Chicago,  and  pastor  of  the  church  which  is  a  part  of 
it,  made  the  following  remark,  which  in  a  vivid  way 
presented  the  denominational  situation  in  the  immediate 
community:  "I  can  take  a  pistol  and  stand  on  the  top 
of  the  Lincoln  Center  and  fire  into  seven  churches  of 
as  many  different  denominations."' 

It  is  but  just  to  state  that  these  were  all  large  churches 
and  all  Protestant  except  one.  This  condition  was 
further  characterized  by  him  as  follows:  "The  six 
churches  located  so  close  together  reveal  the  imbecility 
of  Protestantism.''    Another  has  said  in  this  respect: 

There  is  as  much  need  of  a  Protestant  reformation  now  as 
there  was  in  Luther's  time,  not  because  the  church  is  debased,  but 
because  of  the  practical  opportunity  to  which  it  needs  to  become 
adapted  as  it  is  not  under  its  present  denominational  form  of 
organization — then  there  would  not  be  four  churches  on  the  four 
corners  of  the  streets  that  cross  in  the  best  residential  section  of  a 
city  and  scores  of  miles  of  streets  in  the  neediest  section  of  the 
same  city  without  a  church  in  sight,  while  churches  retire  and 
disappear  from  city  neighborhoods  in  proportion  as  the  needs  of 
churches  in  these  neighborhoods  increase,  nor  would  there  any- 
where be  sixteen  weak  and  competing  country  churches  in  the 
radius  of  three  miles. ^ 

In  the  foregoing  are  to  be  found  some  of  the  results 
of  denominationalism.  These  are  the  larger,  more 
general,  and  more  inclusive  ones.  No  attempt  has 
been  made  to  set  them  forth  in  detail.  That  would 
have  required  going  beyond  the  scope  and  purpose  of 

^  Jenkin  Lloyd  Jones,  Lincoln  Center,  Chicago. 

'  E.  C.  Hayes,  American  Journal  oj  Sociology ^  XVI,  694. 


DENOMINATIONALISM  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES      27 

this   survey.    The  whole   situation   seems   to  be  well 
summarized  in  the  following: 

From  the  days  of  Luther  down  to  the  present,  the  centrifugal 
forces  of  Protestantism  have  produced  disunion  in  purpose  and 
division  of  strength.  Now  at  last  the  church  is  beginning  to 
realize  the  waste  involved  in  multiplied  and  overlapping  parishes; 
the  shame  of  Christian  brethren  working  at  cross  purposes;  the 
necessity  for  a  generous  and  mutual  spirit  of  tolerance  and  the 
concentration  of  strength  that  is  secured  by  unity.^ 

^  From  a  letter  sent  out  to  members  of  the  Chicago  Church  Federa- 
tion Council,  December  7,  191 7,  by  the  President  and  Secretary. 


CHAPTER  II 

SOME  OF  THE  CAUSES  FOR  THE  TREND  TOWARD 
DENOMINATIONAL  UNITY 

From  the  preceding  brief  presentation  of  the  results 
of  denominationahsm  it  would  seem  quite  correct  to 
conclude  that  the  centrifugal  forces  of  Protestantism 
have  been  in  the  ascendancy,  resulting  in  a  divided 
church,  unregulated  competition,  denominational  over- 
looking and  overlapping,  waste,  inefhciency,  and  bring- 
ing the  church  into  sharp  criticism  and  even  into  dis- 
respect and  contempt.  On  the  other  hand,  there  have 
also  been  centripetal  forces  at  work  making  for  the 
things  directly  contrary  to  the  results  of  the  centrifugal 
ones.  During  the  last  half-century  these  forces  work- 
ing for  unity  of  the  denominations  and  the  attendant 
results  have  gradually  gained  in  strength  until  they  have 
outweighted  the  opposite  and  turned  the  balance  in 
the  other  direction.  Great  leveling  forces  have  been  at 
work  breaking  down  barriers,  creating  conditions  favor- 
able to  denominational  unity,  and  stimulating  the 
movement  to  that  end.'  Careful  investigation  reveals 
that  there  is  now  a  decided  trend  toward  denomina- 
tional unity.  It  has  been  slowly  evolving  and  gradually 
gaining  in  momentum.  A  little  later  some  concrete 
material  will  be  given  that  shows  this  trend.  At  this 
point  some  of  its  causes  will  be  presented. 

One  of  the  causes  for  this  trend  is  a  practical  one. 
It  is  the  widespread  demand  throughout  the  country  for 

'  Henry  C.  McComas,  The  Psychology  of  Religious  Sects. 

28 


CAUSES  FOR  THE  TREND  TOWARD  UNITY  29 

economy,  efficiency,  co-operation,  consolidation,  and 
community  of  action  in  religious  matters,  and  the  elimi- 
nation of  waste.  It  is  a  part  of  the  general  demand  for 
efficiency.     The  situation  is  well  stated  in  the  following: 

Naturally  enough,  the  church  has  felt  the  same  pressure  which 
practical  men  of  affairs,  owing  largely  to  an  economic  impulse, 
have  brought  to  bear  upon  all  forms  of  activity,  by  which  combi- 
nations, consolidations,  and  organized  trusts  have  been  created. 
Capital  long  since  pooled  its  issues  in  corporations,  the  smaller 
constantly  giving  place  to  larger  combinations.  Labor  gathered 
scattered  individuals  into  local  unions,  and  these  in  turn  into 
associations  and  federations.  All  the  arts  and  sciences,  all  the 
philanthropies  and  charities,  and  many  of  the  purely  social 
functions  have  tended  toward  centraHzed  forms  of  expression. 
The  economic  cry  has  been,  "Let  us  cut  out  waste;  let  us  eliminate 
competition;  let  us  reduce  overhead  charges."  It  is  not  at  all 
surprising  that  the  men  who  have  been  reconstructing  industrial 
and  commercial  enterprises  upon  the  principle  of  consolidation 
should  bring  into  church  circles  and  church  councils  the  same 
principles  and  advocate  their  adoption  and  application  with 
even  increased  insistence.  There  has  been  a  great  "drift"  in 
ecclesiastical  affairs,  as  there  has  been  in  all  human  affairs, 
toward  a  common  center.^ 

The  same  thought  is  expressed  by  another  in  the 
following  words:  "Expediency,  efficiency,  economy, 
success  as  against  threatened  extermination,  the  last 
will  and  prayer  of  our  Lord  Himself,  every  dictate  of 
common  sense  and  a  common  impress  of  humanity, 
ought  to  furnish  reasons  enough  and  argument  enough 
for  Christian  unity.  "^ 

The  foregoing  view  was  given  expression  in  the 
address  of  the  former  President  of  the  Federal  Council 

^Alfred  Williams  Anthony,  American  Journal  of  Theology,  XX, 
500-501. 

^  Shailer  Mathews,  Biblical  World,  XLIX,  72. 


30  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in  America,  at  a  recent  meet- 
ing of  that  body;  while  speaking  of  the  work  and  prob- 
lems confronting  the  newly  created  Committees  on 
Rural  Life,  he  said: 

It  is  at  least  bringing  to  bear  upon  our  rural  life  a  conception 
of  a  great  evangelical  Christianity  distinct  from  the  competition 
which  too  often  has  marred  the  church  life  in  small  communities. 
No  careful  student  of  the  present  tendencies  in  American  life 
can  avoid  seeing  that  only  as  denominations  co-operate  in  some 
way  in  the  maintenance  of  churches  in  the  country  districts  can 
those  districts  be  prevented  from  falling  into  irreligion  of  the 
densest  sort.^ 

The  awakening  to  the  realization  of  such  facts  as 
these  has  been  among  the  powerful  stimuH  for  the  trend 
toward  co-operation  and  denominational  unity. 

The  widespread  demand  under  immediate  considera- 
tion has  found  expression,  not  only  in  words,  but  in 
actual  practice.  Many  illustrations  of  it  were  dis- 
covered by  this  study  in  the  community  churches,  among 
which  may  be  mentioned  the  Congregational  Com- 
munity Church,  Winnetka,  Illinois,'^  Olivet  Institute, 
Chicago,^  and  the  Church  of  the  Brethren,  Waterloo, 
Iowa.4 

Another  cause  for  the  trend  toward  denominational 
unity  that  is  worthy  of  notice  is  the  shifting  of  emphasis 
from  the  "other  worldly''  to  "this  worldly"  point  of 
view.  It  is  only  necessary  to  call  attention  to  the 
various  activities  of  a  more  general  character  that  are 
now  carried  on  by  a  vast  number  of  churches  to  realize 
that  this  is  true.     That  the  social  betterment  of  the 

»  Shailer  Mathews,  loc.  cit.  3  Ihid.,  p.  113. 

'  See  p.  107.  ■♦  Ihid.f  p.  66. 


CAUSES  FOR  THE  TREND  TOWARD  UNITY  31 

people  and  the  community  is  a  part  of  the  work  of  the 
church  is  now  quite  generally  recognized  by  it.  That 
it  is  giving  much  time  and  energy  and  concern  to  that 
part  of  its  work  is  giving  much  concern  to  some.  They 
maintain  that  personal  salvation,  the  salvation  of  each 
person's  soul  for  the  "other  world"  is  the  one  and  only 
mission  of  the  church.  However,  the  social  conception 
of  the  church's  mission  is  gaining  the  ascendancy.  It  is 
now  widely  considered  to  be  the  church's  duty  not  only 
to  save  a  man's  soul,  but  also  to  save  his  whole  life. 
Moreover,  it  is  to  "save"  the  whole  life  or  environment 
or  society  in  which  he  lives.  It  has  been  said  in  this 
connection: 

If  a  church  that  is  interested  simply  in  itself  as  a  church  with 
care  only  for  its  peculiar  type  of  edification  now,  and  forward 
looking  to  the  triumph  of  a  judgment  day,  when  it  can  marshal  a 
certain  number  of  saved  individuals  as  its  credentials,  that  such 
is  a  separatist  affair,  at  least  abandoning  the  rest  of  society  instead 
of  helping  to  carry  on  the  social  process.^ 

In  other  words,  it  is  now  considered  the  church's  first 
concern  to  save  the  life  that  now  is,  for  this  world,  here 
and  now,  judging  that  this  is  the  best  and  surest  way 
of  saving  it  for  the  "other  world."  This  is  outstandingly 
the  point  of  view  of  the  community  churches.  This  is 
quite  evident  from  their  declarations  as  to  purpose  and, 
better  still,  from  the  activities  which  they  carry  on.^ 
It  has  been  discovered  that  greater  progress  and  attain- 
ment can  be  made  in  this  social  salvation — "this 
worldly"  salvation — by  the  united  action  of  the  various 
denominations  than  by  each  one  working  alone.     This 

^  Albion  W.  Small,  Principles  of  Sociology,  p.  286. 
'  See  chap,  vi,  "Activities  of  Community  Churches." 


32  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

holds  true  in  respect  to  either  a  local  community  or  a 
larger  sphere.  It  has  been  discovered  that  it  is  fre- 
quently necessary  to  have  the  united  action  of  all  the 
denominations  in  order  to  accomplish  anything  at  all 
in  the  way  of  "social  salvation,"  i.e.,  social  reformation 
and  social  betterment.  The  widespread  recognition  of 
this  fact  is  one  of  the  causes  for  the  trend  for  denomina- 
tional unity.  As  has  been  said :  "Happily  the  emphasis 
in  religion  is  undergoing  a  rapid  change.  The  outward 
is  taking  the  place  of  the  upward  look.  If  abstract 
doctrines  have  tended  to  divide  men  the  understand- 
ing of  common  tasks  now  is  to  unite  them."^ 

Closely  related  to  the  foregoing  causes  for  the  trend 
toward  denominational  unity  is  the  widespread  and 
prevalent  disregard  for  denominational  differences  of 
dogma  and  doctrine.  That  such  is  the  case  is  amply 
illustrated  in  what  is  later  said  about  the  community 
church  and  denominational  unity.''  Moreover,  it  is 
noteworthy  that  in  almost  all  communions  there  are 
men  and  women  who  have  this  attitude.  They  do  not 
care  for  their  particular  churches  as  they  do  for  the 
church  universal.^  Doctrinal  interests  are  not  in  the 
spirit  of  the  times.^  The  following  quotation  is  quite 
to  the  point: 

There  are  in  the  United  States  about  150  Protestant  denomi- 
nations and  about  150  more  separate  and  independent  Protestant 
congregations  that  belong  to  no  one  of  these  denominations.  The 
difference  between  them  in  a  few  instances  are  of  some  importance, 
but  in  most  cases  their  present  day  significance  is  nothing.    They 

*  Howard  E.  Jensen,  Social  Ideals  and  Unity  of  Religious  Forces ^ 
p.  82. 

=»  See  chap.  vii.  3  McComas,  op.  cit.,  p.  70. 

*  Kirshner,  Constructive  Quarterly^  I,  70. 


CAUSES  FOR  THE  TREND  TOWARD  UNITY  33 

are  kept  alive  by  ecclesiastical  machinery  and  traditional  momen- 
tum. They  are  such  as  these:  shall  we  pray  to  God  with  a  book; 
or  extemporaneously;  or  in  silence.  In  adult  baptism  shall  we 
apply  the  man  to  the  water  or  the  water  to  the  man,  etc.,  etc. 
....  The  ministers  no  longer  talk  about  these  things;  the  laity 
no  longer  think  about  them.  It  is  true  that  there  are  differences 
of  temperament  and  taste.  But  the  Masonic  Order,  the 
Y.M.C.A.,  and  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  have  demonstrated 
that  men  of  different  states  and  temperaments  can  co-operate 
harmoniously  in  philanthropic  and  religious  institutions.' 

The  statement  that  denominationalism  in  the  last 
few  years  has  been  undergoing  a  very  remarkable  change 
well  describes  the  situation.  Whereas  most  of  the 
denominations  started  in  the  spirit  of  sectarianism  and 
became  belligerent  bodies,  denominationahsm  at  the 
present  time  is  rapidly  becoming  co-operative.  It  repre- 
sents the  federal  idea  rather  than  the  imperial.^ 

The  cause  for  this  new  attitude,  or  disregard  for 
denominational  differences,  with  its  attendant  result  of 
causing  a  trend  in  the  direction  of  denominational  unity, 
has  been  comprehensively  set  forth  in  the  declarations 
that  the  essential  element  of  Christianity — service — • 
largely  as  a  result  of  the  work  of  the  churches,  has  now 
widespread  acceptance,  and  that  many  are  not  capti- 
vated by  the  doctrinal  side  of  church  activities;  that 
such  men  must  understand  the  meaning  of  faith  to  Paul 
by  the  meaning  of  religion  to  Jesus;  that  they  respond 
to  the  appeal  of  service,  that  they  do  not  take  interest 
in  the  matters  of  doctrine;  that  to  such  the  church  is  a 
function,  not  an  interpreter  of  dogma;  that  what  repre- 
sents rehgious  sanity  in  such  a  movement  it  is  for  time 

^  Outlook,  LXXXVII,  894. 

"  Shailer  Mathews,  op.  cit.^  p.  70, 


34  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

to  reveal,  but  the  current  now  flows  toward  service  and 
away  from  systems  of  doctrine;  that  service  brings 
reHgious  people  together  and  doctrine  separates  them; 
that  it  is  therefore  natural  with  the  present  tendency 
toward  making  religion  and  activity  that  there  should 
be  a  profound  movement  toward  religious  consolidation. 
The  reaction  from  narrower  and  narrower  divisions, 
smaller  and  smaller  groups  within  Protestantism  is  very 
determined;  that  if  activity  proves  a  working  basis  for 
the  fellowship  of  Christian  people,  we  may  in  time  have 
the  community  church  attempting  to  serve  all  the 
people  in  every  possible  way,  and  in  association  with 
other  churches  assuming  the  same  function.^  From 
what  will  be  presented  later  concerning  the  community 
church,  its  activities,  its  attitude  toward  doctrine  and 
denominationalism  and  denominational  unity,  it  will  be 
seen  that  this  vision  of  a  decade  ago  is  now  being  realized 
or  embodied  in  them.'' 

Closely  related  to  the  foregoing  cause  of  this  trend 
is  that  of  the  popularity  of  the  idea  of  denominational 
unity.  Dr.  Warren  H.  Wilson  says:  "The  doctrine  of 
religious  unity  is  dear  to  the  hearts  of  the  Christian 

people Especially  is  it  so  to  business  men  and 

farmers.  One  meets  it  in  all  parts  of  the  country.  In 
every  public  gathering  the  expression  of  the  longing  for 
religious  unity  calls  forth. a  tumultuous  applause."^ 

The  popularity  of  this  ideal  is  further  illustrated  in 
a  description  of  the  situation  in  Ohio,  in  which  it  is 
stated   that  very  large  numbers  of   the  rural  people 

*  Ernest  B.  Groves,  Rural  Problems  of  Today,  p.  67. 

2  See  chaps,  iii  and  iv. 

•5  The  Church  at  the  Center,  p.  93. 


CAUSES  FOR  THE  TREND  TOWARD  UNITY  35 

keenly  realize  the  need  of  interchurch  co-operation. 
When  a  speaker  in  a  farmers'  institute  mentions  the 
need  of  it,  he  is  nearly  always  applauded  by  his  hearers 
and  made  conscious  of  their  hearty  approval.^  In  mak- 
ing this  study  many  personal  interviews  were  held  with 
persons  from  many  walks  in  life,  business  men,  pro- 
fessional men,  and  laborers.  All  of  them,  with  only 
here  and  there  a  rare  expection,  were  in  favor  of  denom- 
inational unity,  and  most  of  them  spoke  in  the  most 
enthusiastic  manner  in  its  behalf. 

The  recent  war  did  much  to  popularize  this  idea. 
It  is  said  that  those  who  come  from  the  battlefields  of 
Europe  never  refer  to  religious  matters  without  speaking 
of  the  spirit  of  unity  which  was  everywhere  evident.  In 
magazine  articles,  in  the  newspapers,  in  books,  this 
statement  is  reiterated,  and  it  is  declared  that  the 
soldiers  do  not  care  for  the  various  religious  shibboleths. 
The  chaplains  of  all  faiths  fraternized  with  one  another 
and  ministered  alike  to  the  wounded  and  dying  of  all 
creeds.  Such  is  the  testimony,  moreover,  of  Y.M.C.A. 
secretaries,  soldiers,  and  correspondents  from  the  field. 
The  substance  of  the  following  has  been  expressed 
thousands  of  times  and  seems  to  correctly  present  the 
situation  among  the  soldiers: 

Distinctions  of  faith  have  largely  disappeared  among  the 
Protestants.  For  instance.  .  .  .  the  Baptist  chums  daily  with 
the  Presbyterian,  the  Congregational ist  with  the  Episcopalian. 
The  hair-splitting  differences  are  unknown  among  them.  The 
result  is  that  the  men  are  gradually  moulded  into  a  hardy  faith 
that  rests  only  on  the  fundamental  solidities  of  nature — honor, 
courage,  and  truth  being  the  main  ones.^ 

^  C.  O.  Gill,  unpublished  manuscript. 

2  Lieutenant  Harold  Hersey,  U.S.N.G.,  Scribner's,  August,  1918. 


36  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

Not  only  has  the  war  been  the  cause  of  this  point  of 
view  among  the  soldiers  in  the  training  camps,  at  home, 
and  on  the  battlefields  abroad,  but  it  has  likewise 
resulted  in  the  spirit  of  unity  among  the  churches  and 
people  at  home  and  has  been  of  tremendous  force  in 
accelerating  the  trend  toward  denominational  unity. 
The  problems  arising  out  of  the  war  were  such  that  the 
various  denominations  had  to  co-operate  in  order  to 
meet  them.  This  is  illustrated  in  the  following  taken 
from  a  letter  sent  out  on  August  15,  19 18,  by  the  execu- 
tive secretary  of  the  Home  Missions  Council  to  all 
ministers  throughout  the  country: 

The  war  has  presented  many  stem  necessities.  Two  which 
affect  all  people,  seem  destined  this  coming  fall  and  winter  to 
compel  many  churches  either  to  (i)  hold  no  services,  or  (2)  hold 

services  together  as  union  services The  two  necessities  are 

the  lack  of  fuel  and  the  lack  of  men The  Home  Missions 

Council,  through  its  extensive  officers,  makes  an  appeal  to  all 
Christian  churches  seriously  to  consider  the  possibilities  of  join- 
ing with  their  church  neighbors  in  common  worship,  and  united 
ministeries  in  the  communities  in  which  they  are  placed.  If  fuel 
and  men  can  thereby  be  saved,  if  fellowship  can  be  enlarged  and 
efficiency  be  increased,  no  richer  testimony  could  be  given  to  the 
adaptability  and  perennial  vigor  of  the  church  of  Jesus  Christ  to 
serve  in  our  modern  wo  rid.  ^ 

Thus  is  stated  how  the  war,  by  the  practical  demands 
it  created,  has  fostered  the  spirit  of  unity  and  actual 
co-operation,  which,  in  turn,  fosters  the  trend  toward 
denominational  unity.  That  it  has  done  this  was 
declared  in  a  recent  address  by  the  president  of  one  of 
the  largest  city  federations  of  churches  in  this  country, 

^  Alfred  Williams  Anthony,  executive  secretary  of  the  Home  Mis- 
sions Council. 


CAUSES  FOR  THE  TREND  TOWARD  UNITY  37 

in  which  he  said  that  this  war  had  advanced  the  cause 
of  denominational  unity  fifty  years/ 

Another  illustration  of  this  point  was  the  oversub- 
scription to  the  Inter- War  Work  Activities  Fund  in 
November,  1918,  to  which  subscriptions  were  made  by 
all  denominations  alike  for  agencies  that  represented  all 
denominations,  not  only  Protestant,  but  Catholic  and 
Jewish  as  well.  It  can  be  said  with  certainty  that  prob- 
ably the  war  has  done  more  to  level  denominational 
barriers  and  promote  denominational  unity  than  all 
other  events  together  in  the  last  one  hundred  years. 
Many  barriers,  although  formerly  they  seemed  insur- 
mountable, were  swept  away  so  that  all  might  unite 
their  forces  to  attain  an  end  that  was  for  the  good  of 
all.  It  is  not  probable  that  these  barriers  will  ever  be 
rebuilt.  There  is  a  new  spirit  in  the  church.  As 
someone  has  said : 

A  great  sense  of  ethical  justice,  a  great  longing  for  social 
righteousness,  and  a  great  experience  in  human  brotherhood,  have 
come  to  the  spirits  of  men  so  that  after  the  sacrificial  services  of 
many  nations  on  many  battlefields  for  a  common  cause  the  nations 
of  the  earth  can  never  again  live  entirely  apart  and  unconcerned 
respecting  the  interests  and  welfare  of  their  neighbors ;  and  after  the 
intermingling  of  men  who  face  death  together  and  have  reached  out 
a  hand  for  a  grip  on  realities,  the  little  differences  and  sectarian 
bickerings  which  once  seemed  inevitable  will  never  again  be 
tolerated  .2 

These  characteristics  growing  out  of  the  war  have 
most  assuredly  added  momentum  to  the  movement  for 
the  union  of  the  various  denominations. 

^  Herbert  L.  Willett,  Inter-Church  Workers'  Conference,  Chicago, 
.  September,  19 18. 

2  Alfred  W.  Anthony,  pamphlet  on  Church  Federation  in  Terms  of 
Fraternity,  Democracy,  and  Altruism,  p.  12. 


38  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

The  foregoing  is  suggestive  of  another  cause  for 
the  trend  toward  denominational  unity.  This  survey- 
revealed  the  fact  that  the  spirit  of  the  times  is  toward 
toleration  and  things  that  matter  and  unite  rather  than 
toward  those  that  divide.  Evidence  on  this  point  was 
abundant  and  thoroughly  convincing.  A  meager  part 
of  it  will  be  presented  here. 

Some  seven  years  ago  this  situation  was  observed 
and  pointed  out  as  follows : 

The  whole  situation  has  changed,  or  is  rapidly  changing. 
The  lingo  about  the  only  church  has  perished  from  our  language. 
Instead,  the  shibboleth  for  the  last  ten  years  has  become  in  ecclesi- 
astical what  it  was  earlier  in  political  circles:  In  essentials,  unity; 
in  non-essentials,  liberty;  in  all  things,  charity.  The  changed 
note  in  the  thinking  of  the  churches  has  changed  their  activities. 
Formerly,  there  was  great  activity  in  discussing  the  church. 
Every  man  was  the  defender  of  his  own  church;  now  there  is  no 
necessity,  for  no  one  attacks.  Then  every  one  did  his  utmost  to 
get  adherents  to  his  church;  now  it  is  of  no  consequence  to  the 
ordinary  layman.^ 

This  thought  is  similarly  expressed  in  the  histori- 
cal sketch  of  one  of  the  community  churches  which 
came  under  observation.  After  a  brief  appreciation 
of  the  cause  for  the  pressure  of  various  denomina- 
tional organizations  in  the  community,  the  following 
occurs : 

The  churches  of  the  community  bring  to  the  investigator  a 
long  and  honorable  history.  The  spirit  of  the  age,  however,  is 
toward  toleration,  and  in  Christian  matters  to  emphasize  the  great 
essentials  rather  than  those  that  divide.  In  this,  in  common  with 
many  other  communities,  many  men  and  women  had  been  asking 
in  recent  years  whether  a  regrouping  and  consolidation  of  the 

^  John  L.  Gillin,  American  Journal  oj  Sociology^  XVI,  69. 


CAUSES  FOR  THE  TREND  TOWARD  UNITY  39 

Christian  forces  of  the  town  would  not  make  more  strongly  for 
those  things  for  which  the  Christian  church  stands.^ 

The  same  thought  was  expressed  by  a  very  prominent 
layman  in  a  recent  address  which  attracted  nation-wide 
attention  and  was  made  much  of  in  both  the  secular  and 
the  religious  press.  The  part  of  the  address  that  is 
to  the  point  under  consideration  and  that  caused  most  of 
the  discussion  and  criticism  was  the  following: 

Immersion  as  a  condition  of  admission  into  the  church  is 
man-made.  If  the  Baptist  Church  is  to  bear  its  part  in  the  leader- 
ship of  the  church  of  the  future,  it  must  not  exclude  good  Christian 
men  and  women  on  matters  of  form.  In  the  Church  of  the 
future,  form  and  ceremony  will  play  a  minor  part." 

He  pointed  out,  furthermore,  that  the  government, 
after  years  of  encouraging  competition,  had  now  in  its 
crisis  turned  to  co-operation,  and  that  Christianity  would 
turn  in  the  same  direction.  He  suggested  that  the 
time  would  come  when,  instead  of  trying-  to  support 
a  half-dozen  churches,  the  small  community  would  have 
only  one  or  two,  but  supported  by  the  entire  community. 
Commenting  on  this  part  of  the  address,  Dr.  Washmgton 
Gladden  says  that  Mr.  Rockefeller  has  expressed  in 
these  brief  sentences  the  conditions  upon  which  Christian 
unity  may  be  attained.  Churches  may  continue  to 
maintain  their  distinctive  creeds  and  rituals,  but  they 
can  effectively  unite  only  by  agreeing  that  these  distinct- 
ive peculiarities  are  not  essential  elements  of  Christianity 
and  can  be  safely  discarded  in  co-operative  work.^ 

That  the  churches  are  awakening  to  these  demands 
and  seeking  to  meet  them  is  another  very  vital  factor  in 
the  trend  toward  denominational  unity. 

^  Manual  of  the  United  Church  of  Garrettsville,  Ohio  (191 7),  p.  3. 
'Outlookj  December  19,  1917. 


40  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

The  causes  presented  in  the  foregoing  are  only  some 
of  the  outstanding  ones  which  are  responsible  for  the 
trend  toward  denominational  unity.  This  study  dis- 
covered some  concrete  evidence  of  such  a  trend.  Some 
of  them  which  show  this  since  the  beginning  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  are  presented  in  the  next  chapter. 


CHAPTER  III 

SOME  CONCRETE  EVIDENCE  OF  THE  TREND  TOWARD 
DENOMINATIONAL  UNITY  SINCE  THE  BEGIN- 
NING OF  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY 

As  was  stated  at  the  close  of  preceding  chapter,  only 
some  concrete  illustrations  of  the  trend  toward  denom- 
inational unity  are  to  be  considered  here.  They  do  not 
show  actual  denominational  unity,  but  a  tendency  to- 
ward it  by  the  breaking  down  of  denominational  pre- 
judice and  the  co-operation  of  the  constitutents  of  the 
various  organizations.  No  attempt  will  be  made  to 
show  in  detail  how  or  to  what  extent  each  or  all  of  them 
have  made  for  the  trend  in  this  direction.  They  are 
given  here  because  they  illustrate  the  existence  of  such 
a  trend  in  this  country  during  the  last  one  hundred 
years,  and  because  they  present  the  proper  background 
of  the  relationship  of  the  community-church  movement 
to  it. 

The  first  one  of  large  significance  and  among  the 
oldest  of  such  organizations  was  the  American  ^Sunday 
School  Union,  organized  in  May,  1824.  The  total 
strength  of  this  union  in  19 16  was  207,789  Sunday 
schools,  2,049,293  officers  and  teachers,  and  20,569,831 
pupils.  In  1872  this  organization  provided  for  a  system 
of  international  lessons  to  be  used  by  the  schools  in 
order  that  all  might  be  studying  the  same  material  at 
the  same  time.  This  did  a  great  deal  to  unify  the 
schools.  This  organization  has  so  directed  the  work 
among  the  Sunday  schools  of  this  country  that  practi- 

41 


42  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

cally  all  of  them  have  become  affiliated  and  co-operate 
along  non-denominational  lines.  It  has  instituted  the 
holding  of  national,  state,  county,  and  township  conven- 
tions, and  every  Sunday  school,  even  those  in  the  remot- 
est rural  districts,  are  reached  by  the  organization  and 
correlated  with  the  others.  It  seeks  to  promote  those 
things  that  are  of  common  interest  to  the  schools  of 
all  denominations,  and  that  make  for  the  common 
welfare.  It  is  strictly  non-denominational  and  has 
greatly  developed  good-fellowship  among  the  various 
denominations  and  Hkewise  has  done  much  to  break 
down  the  barriers  between  them.  It  clearly  shows  the 
trend  toward  denominational  unity. 

Another  example  to  the  point  is  the  Y.M.C.A.  It 
was  first  organized  in  this  country  in  185 1,  and  has  had 
a  remarkable  growth.  There  are  now  2,087  associations 
in  this  country,  having  720,468  members,  and  property 
valued  at  $97,330,782.^  Its  fundamental  purpose  is  the 
development  of  the  whole  individual  in  ^^  spirit,  mind, 
and  body."  It  includes  in  its  membership  men  of  all 
evangehcal  Protestant  denominations  and  has  done  much 
to  advance  the  trend  toward  denominational  unity  as 
is  substantiated  in  the  following  quotation: 

The  spirit  of  unity  has  been  expressed  in  this  country  for  the 
work  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association.  There  are  two 
things  which  explain  this  substantial  approval  of  this  great  under- 
taking. It  stands  for  religious  unity  and  practical  human  service. 
It  is  the  embodiment  of  the  two  great  essentials  set  forth  in  the 
Old  Testament  and  reiterated  by  Jesus,  "Thou  shalt  love  the 
Lord  thy  God  and  thy  neighbor."  Two  Sundays  ago  I  spent  the 
day  in  a  hut  in  a  great  aviation  camp.  At  eight  o'clock  and  at 
nine  o'clock  a  Roman  Catholic  priest  conducted  mass  in  the  hut. 

^  Daily  News  Almanac  and  Year  Book  (1918),  p.  199. 


EVIDENCE  OF  THE  TREND  TOWARD  UNITY  43 

The  second  person  I  met  on  entering  the  building  was  the  Jewish 
Welfare  Worker,  whose  headquarters  were  there,  and  twice  during 
the  day  as  a  Protestant  minister,  I  preached  the  Gospel  of  Faith 
and  service  to  the  magnificent  men  who  were  preparing  to  give 
their  lives  for  America  and  humanity.  Every  hut  stands  for 
religious  unity.  And  every  hut  stands  for  service  seven  days 
in-the-week.^ 

Another  organization  that  shows  the  trend  in  this 
direction  is  the  United  Society  of  Christian  Endeavor. 
This  society,  which  has  for  its  objective  the  religious 
development  and  training  of  young  people  for  service, 
is  composed  of  representatives  from  the  Congregational, 
Christian,  Disciples  of  Christ,  and  Presbyterian  churches. 
It  had  its  inception  in  1881  and  now  has  four  million 
members.^  This  shows  the  trend  toward  denomina- 
tional unity,  inasmuch  as  the  young  people  of  denomina- 
tions as  widely  divergent  as  the  Disciples  of  Christ  and 
the  Presbyterians  are  harmoniously  organized  into  one 
organization  and  are  working  together  for  common  ends. 

The  Laymen's  Missionary  Movement  and  the  Men 
and  Religion  Forward  Movement  were  both  inter- 
denominational in  character  and  united  denominations 
of  widely  divergent  beliefs  and  practices  in  the  under- 
taking of  common  tasks.  Another  movement  of  a 
similar  character  among  college  students  is  the  Student 
Volunteer  Movement  of  the  United  States  and  Canada. 
These  organizations  have  had  a  profound  influence  upon 
this  trend  by  rising  above  denominational  barriers  and 
in  organizing  the  different  denominations  for  the  under- 
taking of  common  tasks  and  promoting  common  interests. 

^  Roy  B.  Guild,  address  at  National  Conference  of  Social  Work, 
Kansas  City,  Mo.,  January,  19 18. 

*  Atlantic  Monthly  (February,  1918),  p.  151. 


44  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

A  further  concrete  evidence  of  this  trend  is  the 
attempt  that  has  recently  been  made  to  federate  and 
unify  closely  related  denominational  groups.  For 
instance,  there  is  a  commission  composed  of  representa- 
tives from  the  Methodist  Protestant,  the  Methodist 
Episcopal,  and  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South, 
churches.  This  commission  was  appointed  by  the 
General  Conferences  of  these  bodies,  which  is  seeking 
to  formulate  plans  for  their  organic  union.  And  again, 
three  of  the  Lutheran  bodies,  the  General  Synod,  the 
General  Council,  and  the  United  Synod,  South,  have 
just  officially  merged  into  one  ecclesiastical  organization 
by  the  name  of  the  United  Lutheran  Church  in  Amer- 
ica, with  a  combined  strength  of  3,000  ministers,  5,000 
churches,  and  2,600,000  members  in  the  Uni  ed  States 
and  Canada.^ 

Not  only  has  there  been  an  attempt  to  federate 
closely  related  denominational  groups,  but  the  process 
has  gone  farther.  Dean  Shailer  Mathews,  in  speaking 
of  the  work  of  the  Federal  Council  of  the  Churches  of 
Christ  in  America,  says:  ^'The  interesting  fact  here  is 
that  we  seem  to  have  passed  into  the  second  stage. 
We  first  established  organizations  to  federate  certain 
types  of  Christian  life;  now  we  are  trying  to  federate 
these  federated  movements."^ 

Another  illustration  of  this  trend  is  the  co-operation 
and  federation  of  various  denominations  in  their  foreign- 
missionary  activities.  This  came  about  not  only  because 
it  prevented  the  overlapping  and  the  duplication  of 
equipment,  expenditure  of  men  and  money,  but  also 

^  Homiletic  Review  (January,  1919),  p.  31. 

*  Men  and  Religion  Forward  Movement^  IV,  71. 


EVIDENCE  OF  THE  TREND  TOWARD  UNITY  45 

because  there  was  an  insistent  demand  for  federation, 
co-operation,  and  unity  of  the  Christian  forces  by  the 
foreign  peoples.     The  following  is  illustrative: 

The  Centenary  Missionary  Conference  in  China  in  1907 
registered  high  in  this  respect.  Both  the  missionaries  and  the 
native  Christians  expressed  in  unequivocal  terms  both  the  neces- 
sity and  their  earnest  desire  for  Christian  Unity,  and  all  other 
centers  of  Christian  activity  in  the  heathen  world  have  made  their 
plea  for  brotherhood  among  all  believers  and  in  many  instances 
have  already  combined  their  forces.  The  great  Missionary  Con- 
ference in  Edinburgh  sounded  this  note  in  all  its  discussions  and 
the  responses  were  always  cordial.^ 

At  the  Edinburgh  Conference  on  World-Missions  the 
whole  foreign-mission  field  was  divided,  and  each  of  the 
great  evangelical  denominations  had  a  definite  section 
assigned  to  it  for  which  it  should  be  responsible.  In 
respect  to  what  influence  this  movement  for  federation 
and  unity  in  the  foreign  field  has  had  on  the  trend  toward 
federation  and  unity  in  the  home  field,  Dr.  Charles  S. 
McFarland  has  said:  "Attention  should  be  called  to  the 
fact  that  federation  in  the  home  field  is  largely  in  the 
nature  of  reflection  from  foreign  missions."^ 

The  federation  in  the  home-mission  field  just  men- 
tioned is  another  thing  that  shows  the  trend  toward 
denominational  unity.  Federation  in  this  field  was 
brought  about  in  order  to  prevent  waste  of  money  by 
the  various  denominational  mission  boards  and  likewise 
to  do  away  with  the  overlapping  of  the  denominations 
in  some  territories  and  the  overlooking  in  others  with 
their  attendant  undesirable  results.  In  the  main  it  was 
created  for  purely  practical  purposes.     That  this  organ- 

^  Biblical  World,  IV,  72. 

2  Christian  Union  Quarterly,  July,  191 7. 


46  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

ization  shows  a  trend  in  the  direction  under  considera- 
tion is  clearly  indicated  in  the  following: 

By  far  the  most  important  advance  made  in  the  direction  of 
unity  in  the  home  mission  work  was  the  organization,  in  1909,  of 
the  Home  Missions  Council,  which  includes  in  its  membership  the 
leading  Home  Mission  Boards  and  Societies  in  the  United  States. 
While  its  object  is  not  legislative,  it  was  a  great  thing  to  bring 
these  denominational  bodies  into  consultation  and  co-operation, 
and  the  results  have  already  been  significant.  For  one  thing  a 
home  mission  campaign  for  information  and  inspiration  was 
planned,  with  meetings  at  strategic  points  throughout  the  country. 
Then  a  series  of  state  surveys  was  taken,  in  order  that  there 
might  be  accurate  and  definite  information  concerning  the  pres- 
ent conditions.  Fourteen  or  more  western  states  have  already 
been  canvassed,  and  surprising  facts  have  been  brought  to  light. 
Consultations  have  been  held  in  principal  cities  in  both  the  east 
and  west,  with  a  view  of  learning  from  the  leaders  in  the  various 
states  what  practical  steps  may  be  possible  to  secure  the  co- 
operation needed.  The  one  thing  in  every  mind  has  been  the 
need  of  getting  closer  together,  and  in  some  way  putting  an  end 
to  a  sectarianism  that  means  weakness,  deterioration  and  either 
needless  division  or  pitiful  destitution.' 

The  Survey  Committee  of  this  Council  presented  to  it 
a  report  that  included  the  following,  which  was  adopted: 

We  should  follow  a  steady  policy  and  adopt  vigorous  measures 
for  accomplishing  two  ends:  One  is  the  prevention  of  wasting, 
by  competition,  missionary  funds,  workers  and  interest:  the 
other  and  paramount  end  is  the  establishment  of  efficient  co- 
operation among  evangelical  denominations  so  as  to  meet  the 
unmet  spiritual  needs  of  America  and  bring  about  the  estabhsh- 
ment  of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  here.^ 

To  accomplish  these  ends  this  Council  has  sought  to 
bring  about  co-operation  and  comity  of  the  denomina- 

*  Men  and  Religion  Forward  Movement,  IV,  34-35. 
^Ibid.,  pp.  35-36. 


EVIDENCE  OF  THE  TREND  TOWARD  UNITY  47 

tions  in  unoccupied  fields  and  federation  and  unification 
in  over-churched  fields,  which  again  reveals  a  trend  in 
the  direction  under  discussion. 

Probably  the  most  extraordinary  or  outstanding 
evidence  of  a  trend  toward  denominational  unity  was 
the  formation  of  the  Federal  Council  of  the  Churches 
of  Christ  in  America  in  1908.  This  organization  is 
composed  of  thirty  of  the  largest  Protestant  evangelical 
denominations  in  this  country,  and  includes  142,671 
churches,  having  a  total  membership  of  18,620,136. 
The  basis,  scope,  and  limitations  of  the  organization  are 
indicated  in  the  preamble  to  its  constitution  which  is 
as  follows:  ^'In  the  providence  of  God,  the  time  has 
come  when  it  seems  fitting  to  manifest  the  essential  one- 
ness of  the  Christian  Church  of  America,  in  Jesus  Christ  as 
their  Divine  Lord  and  Saviour,  and  to  promote  the  spirit 
of  fellowship,  service,  and  co-operation  among  them."^ 

This  organization  does  not  seek  to  unite  the  denom- 
inations on  the  basis  of  theology  or  policy  but  on  that 
of  service,  as  is  evident  from  the  following  appeal  which 
it  recently  sent  out: 

This  is  a  time  for  heart  searching  and  revaluation  of  present 
forces  and  organizations,  a  realignment  of  the  churches  in  the 
interest  of  economy,  efficiency,  unity,  the  glory  of  God,  and  the 
greater  good  of  mankind. 

The  Christian  Churches  of  America,  with  the  nation,  face 
world  problems  today.  To  meet  these  problems  there  must  be 
thrift,  co-operation,  nation  wide  and  a  world-wide  vision  and 
greater  unity  of  life  and  action. 

Groups  of  denominations,  constituting  one  family  by  reason 
of  history,  policy  or  doctrine,  might  well  seriously  and  promptly 
consider  the  call  to  unite,  and  thus  meet  the  shortage  of  ministers, 

^  Year  Book  of  the  Federal  Council  of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in  America 
(1918),  p.  209. 


48  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

overcome  administrative  duplication,  overlapping  of  territory,  and 
overlooking  of  the  needs  of  great  sections  of  our  land  and  nations 
abroad.^ 

The  fact  that  this  organization  is  not  merely  a  volun- 
tary agency  or  simply  an  interdenominational  fellow- 
ship, but  an  efficiently  and  ecclesiastically  constituted 
body,  marks  a  long  step  forward  in  the  trend  toward 
denominational  unity.''  The  trend  is  furthermore  evi- 
denced by  the  work  that  it  has  been  doing.  In  general, 
this  may  be  described  as  twofold:  first,  the  cultivation 
of  the  growing  sense  of  evangelical  unity  among  the 
co-operating  denominations;  and  second,  the  expres- 
sion of  this  community  feeling  at  points  where  such 
expression  is  both  possible  and  needed.^ 

Closely  paralleling  the  preceding  organization  is 
another  which,  although  approaching  the  matter  of 
denominational  unity  from  a  very  different  angle,  never- 
theless shows  a  trend  toward  it.  It  is  the  Commission 
for  a  World  Conference  on  Faith  and  Order.  This 
movement  was  launched  by  the  Episcopal  church  in  this 
country  at  its  convention  in  1 910.  At  that  meeting  a 
preliminary  commission  was  appointed  to  arrange  for  a 
world-conference  as  described.  Eighteen  denomina- 
tions immediately  responded  to  the  request  that 
delegates  be  appointed,  and  when  the  first  informal 
meeting  was  held  in  New  York,  May  8,  19 13,  thirty 
communions  were  represented."* 

^  Men  and  Missions  (February,  I9i8),p.i67. 

*  Year  Book  of  the  Federal  Council  of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in  America 
(1918),  p.  209. 

3  Shailer  Mathews,  Biblical  World,  XLIX,  68. 

4  Howard  E.  Jensen,  Social  Idealism  and  the  Unification  of  Religious 
Forces. 


EVIDENCE  OF  THE  TREND  TOWARD  UNITY  49 

A  significant  occurrence  in  connection  with  this  event 
is  the  fact  that  without  any  knowledge  of  what  the 
Episcopal  church  was  doing,  and  on  the  very  same  day, 
the  Disciples  of  Christ,  in  their  national  convention  at 
Topeka,  Kansas,  likewise  appointed  a  Committee  on 
Comity,  Federation,  and  Unity.  The  Presbyterian 
church  already  had  a  standing  Committee  on  Church 
Co-operation  and  Unity.  It  has  been  said:  '^A  general 
sentiment  has  been  awakened  and  never  have  there  been 
in  America  so  many  sympathetic  listeners  to  the  call 
for  a  United  Christendom  as  today.  "^ 

These  things  are  clearly  indicative  of  the  trend  of 
affairs  in  the  direction  of  denominational  unity.  The  for- 
mation of  state  federations  of  churches  shows  the  same 
thing.  The  Home  Mission  Council  of  Western  Washing- 
ton is  typical  in  this  respect.  In  the  report  of  a  survey 
that  was  made  in  February,  191 2,  under  the  direction 
of  this  organization,  the  following  is  given  as  one  of  the 
conclusions  reached: 

There  must  be  developed  some  sort  of  Community  Church 
under  denominational  control  where  all  Christians  can  have 
fellowship  and  can  co-operate  in  the  religious  work  of  their  own 
community  without  violation  of  their  consciences.  Such  a  Com- 
munity Church  must  ....  include  in  its  working  force  Baptists, 
Presbyterians,  Disciples  of  Christ,  Episcopalians,  Methodists,  and 
others.  Already  such  churches  are  being  organized  under  the 
auspices  of  different  denominations,  and  the  communities  are 
adapting  themselves  to  the  situation.  There  is  to  be  no 
other  church  organized  until  the  community  is  able  to  support 
more.^ 

^  Men  and  Religion  Forward  Movement,  IV,  68. 

'  Home  Mission  Council,  Western  Washington,  Statement  of  Prin- 
ciples, p.  4. 


5©  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

In  the  same  report  the  following  significant  statement 
is  found:  "The  general  feeling  manifested  by  the  returns 
shows  little  care  for  denominationalism.''^ 

Many  other  states  now  have  similar  commissions. 
Others  have  state  federations,  among  them  being  Maine, 
Ohio,  CaHfornia,  and  Massachusetts.  The  latter  has 
fifteen  denominations  represented  in  its  federation, 
including  93  per  cent  of  the  Protestant  membership  of 
the  state.  It  covers  the  whole  state  and  every  phase  of 
federation.  It  has  brought  about  the  federation  of 
twenty-five  churches.  The  city,  township,  and  group 
federations  number  fifty.  In  some  of  the  larger  cities, 
city  federation  have  been  brought  about  and  paid 
secretaries  are  in  charge  of  them.  The  state  secretary 
said  at  a  recent  conference  that  the  ideal  of  this  state' 
federation  was  to  have  every  case  of  church  dupHcation 
in  the  state  removed  by  1920.^ 

The  numerous  city  federations  of  churches  are 
another  evidence  of  the  trend  toward  the  union  of  the 
various  denominations.  Many  of  the  larger  cities,  such 
as  Chicago,  Philadelphia,  St.  Louis,  Cleveland,  and 
Minneapohs,  have  strong  city  federations.  These  seek 
to  avoid  the  duplication  of  churches  and  especially  to 
promote  the  practice  of  comity  between  the  denomina- 
tions. The  latter  practice  has  risen  out  of  the  recogni- 
tion that  division  and  overlapping  prevent  and  comity 
makes  for  community  welfare.  They  likewise  seek  unity 
of  action  on  the  part  of  all  the  denominations  concerning 
the  various  movements  for  religious,  social,  and  civic 
betterment. 

^  Home  Mission  Council,  Western  Washington,  Statement  of  Prin- 
ciples, p.  5. 

'  Talmage  E.  Root,  Conference  of  Inter-Church  Workers,  Chicago, 
September,  1918. 


EVIDENCE  OF  THE  TREND  TOWARD  UNITY  51 

Two  other  facts  may  be  cited  to  indicate  the  foregoing 
trend.  The  first  of  these  is  the  prevalence  of  the  denom- 
inational changing  on  the  part  of  church  members,  both 
lay  and  clerical.  The  former  is  now  widespread.  In  a 
great  number  of  the  Protestant  churches  are  to  be  found 
persons  who  formerly  belonged  to  other  denominations.^ 
Matters  of  convenience,  association,  personal  tests,  and 
choice  are  often  given  more  consideration  than  denom- 
inational loyalty.  Effusionists  frequently  become  mem- 
bers of  immersionist  denominations,  and  vice  versa. 
Neither  polity  nor  creed  is  given  much  consideration 
any  more.  There  is  frequent  exchange  of  members  be- 
tween churches  that  have  the  congregational  polity  and 
those  that  have  the  ecclesiastical.  While  formerly  great 
stress  was  laid  on  denominational  differences,  the  general 
feeling  among  the  laity  now  is  that  it  is  of  Httle  or  no 
concern. 

There  is  also  quite  a  great  deal  of  changing  of  denomi- 
nations among  ministers.  Many  who  formerly  were 
Methodists  are  to  be  found  occupying  Congregational 
and  Presbyterian  pulpits.  The  author  knows  several 
instances  and  also  the  converse.  There  are  exchanges 
among  the  other  denominations  as  well.  Such  practices 
show  a  breaking  down  of  denominational  differences  and 
a  trend  toward  unity. 

The  rise  of  the  community  church  probably  demon- 
strates the  trend  more  specifically  and  concretely  than 
any  of  the  organizations.  This  survey  revealed  the 
fact  that  community  churches,  though  not  very  numer- 
ous at  the  present  time,  are  to  be  found  in  all  parts  of 
the  country,''  and  that  they  are  rapidly  increasing  in 

^  For  illustration  see  chap.  vi. 

'  See  map  showing  location  of  community  churches,  p.  52. 


EVIDENCE  OF  THE  TREND  TOWARD  UNITY  53 

number.     It  will  be  seen  later  that  actual  denominational 
unity  is  to  be  found  in  these  churches. 

The  foregoing  sets  forth  in  a  brief  and  very  general 
way  the  situation  of  denominationalism  in  this  country — 
its  results  and  the  trend  toward  denominational  unity. 
This  has  been  done  in  order  to  give  the  proper  back- 
ground for  a  more  extended  and  comprehensive  study 
of  the  latest  movement  in  this  direction,  i.e  ,  that  of  the 
community  church,  to  which  the  remainder  of  this  study 
is  devoted. 


CHAPTER  IV 
THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH— A  DEFINITION 

The  term  "community  church"  has  occasionally 
been  used  in  the  preceding.  It  is  comparatively  new. 
It  has  been  coined  to  designate  the  new  type  of  church 
that  has  arisen  within  the  last  decade.  This  new  type 
of  church  is  the  product  of  the  present  social  movement, 
some  subdivisions  of  which  are  the  movements  for  con- 
servation, co-operation,  economy,  efficiency,  liberty,  and 
democracy. 

The  church  has  always  been  influenced  by  the  social 
changes  that  take  place  in  various  respects  in  human 
society,  and  sooner  or  later  seeks  to  adapt  itself  to  these 
changes.  It  seeks  to  interpret  its  function  to  society 
according  to  the  existing  social  conditions  and  to  adapt 
its  activities  to  the  needs  of  those  conditions.  It  has 
often  found  it  necessary  to  change  profoundly  both  its 
point  of  view,  or  interpretation  of  its  mission,  and  its 
methods  of  administration.  The  rise  of  the  community 
church  is  an  illustration  of  this  fact.  It  is  a  new  type 
which  is  seeking  to  adapt  itself  to  the  existing  social 
situation  so  that  it  may  function  efficiently  in  it  and 
fulfil  its  mission  according  to  the  present  interpretation 
of  that  mission. 

It  may  be  said  that  both  the  form  and  the  function 
of  this  new  type  of  church  are  still  in  the  process  of 
becoming.  Hence  there  is  at  present  no  generally 
accepted  definition  or  conception  of  it.^ 

^  One  of  the  things  undertaken  in  this  investigation  was  to  discover 
just  what  constituted  a  community  church.     Letters  were  written  to 

54 


THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH— A  DEFINITION  55 

However,  many  attempts  at  definition  from  the 
point  of  view  of  motive,  mission,  function,  method  of 
ministration,  denominational  relationship,  etc.,  were 
secured  from  various  sources.  These  attempted  defini- 
tions are  presented  here  in  rather  extended  detail  in 
order  that  a  clear  conception  of  this  new  type  of  church 
may  be  had,  and  that  a  comprehensive  definition  of  it 
may  be  formulated. 

One  of  the  earliest  terms  suggested  for  the  new  form 
of  church  that  was  seen  must  evolve,  or  to  be  evolving  to 
meet  the  social  situation,  was  the  "Municipal  Church." 
Dr.  Washington  Gladden  said: 

No  single  church  [denomination]  can  represent  Jesus  Christ  to 
the  people  of  any  municipality  when  each  church  is  doing  its  own 
work  in  its  own  way  and  ignoring  all  the  rest.  Jesus  Christ  is 
not  represented  by  any  such  condition  of  things  as  that,  and  all 
the  world  knows  it.  When  the  separated  bands  lift  up  their 
voices  to  speak  for  Him,  nobody  pays  any  attention.  They  are 
not  speaking  for  Him.    They  can  never  represent  Him  to  the 


persons  in  high  positions  in  various  denominations  for  the  names  of 
community  churches  and  the  addresses  of  the  pastors  of  such  churches 
in  their  denomination.  These  pastors  were  either  personally  interviewed 
or  corresponded  with  regarding  their  churches  as  to  when  and  why  they 
were  organized  as  community  churches;  the  underlying  motives  for 
their  organization;  the  number  of  different  denominations  represented 
in  the  present  organization;  the  present  denominational  relationship, 
their  activities,  and  equipment  for  carrying  them  on.  In  brief,  a  careful 
study  of  the  whole  situation  was  made  from  the  standpoint  of  denomina- 
tional relationship,  underlying  motives,  purposes,  and  functions.  Many 
books  and  articles  in  magazines  and  newspapers,  secular  and  otherwise, 
were  read.  From  all  these  sources  it  was  discovered  that  there  was  no 
uniformity  of  conception  or  generally  accepted  definition  of  the  com- 
munity church  at  the  present  time.  There  was  no  agreement  as  to 
what  constituted  such  a  church,  nor  was  there  agreement  between  the 
pastors  of  the  various  denominations  or  of  the  same  denomination. 


56  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

needy  multitude.  They  cannot  stand  for  Him  unless  they  stand 
together.  There  is  a  psychological  fact  which  they  cannot  too 
soon  recognize.  This  fact  calls  for  the  appearance  in  every  com- 
munity of  the  Municipal  Church — of  an  organized  body  which 
shall  represent  the  Christian  Community  and  thus  enable  them 

to  represent  their  Lord  and  Master 

It  is  highly  probable  that  the  first  Christian  churches  were 
Municipal  Churches;  that  in  every  town  or  city  there  was  one 
church  with  several  local  congregations,  each  with  its  elder  or 
deacon,  and  all  co-operating  in  the  work  of  the  city.  The  need 
of  the  hour  is  a  restoration  to  every  town  or  city  of  the  Municipal 
Church.  It  ought  to  include  all  Christians  of  the  municipality; 
every  Christian  organization  should  be  represented  in  it.^ 

Another  suggested  name  was  the  ''Community 
Cathedral  Church."  It  is  found  suggested  in  the 
following: 

One  of  the  greatest  encouragements  of  today,  however,  is  that 
so  many  churches  are  getting  the  Christian  point  of  view.  Less 
is  being  expended,  we  trust,  in  the  mere  service  of  dogmas  and 
social  cults,  and  more  to  making  living  truth  serve  men  and  society. 
The  vision  of  the  Community  Cathedral  Church  with  its  one 
minister  for  vital  inspiration  and  expert  administration  and  his 
corps  of  assistants,  each  a  specialist  in  his  branch  of  work,  is 
coming  to  be  realized.* 

The  third  suggested  title  was  the  "Parish  Church.'' 
The  following  occurs  in  this  connection: 

Probably  the  ideal  form  of  social  organization  is  the  parish 
organization  in  which  the  parish  is  the  Geographical  unity,  each 
parish  having  a  single  church.  The  Parish  Church  should  be  not 
merely  a  gateway  to  the  life  to  come,  but  it  should  be  the  center 
of  all  the  recreational,  cultural  and  ethical  activities  of  the  com- 

^  Century  Magazine,  LXXX,  471. 

2  George  Frederick  Wells,  Bihliolheca  Sacra,  LXX,  22. 


THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH— A  DEFINITION  57 

munity  except  those  that  center  in  the  schools  and  the  home.  Its 
organization  should  furnish  the  effective  leadership  pervading  the 
actual  life  of  the  whole  people.^ 

A  number  of  churches  soon  arose  in  various  parts  of 
the  country,  embodying  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  the 
principles  suggested  in  the  foregoing  quotations  and 
adopted  the  name  of  community  church.  So  numerous 
had  they  become  and  so  well  known  that  the  Home 
Mission  Council  of  the  State  of  Washington  in  its  meet- 
ing in  191 6  recommended  the  formation  of  community 
churches  in  many  communities  in  the  state  in  order  to 
meet  the  needs  and  problems  growing  out  of  overlapping 
and  overlooking,  of  inefficiency  and  economic  waste  of 
the  present  system  of  denominational  activities.  It 
defined  such  a  church  as  ^'a  body  of  Christians  wor- 
shipping in  a  certain  district,  representing  all  the  denom- 
inations co-operating  with  the  Home  Mission  Council 
and  affiliated  with  one  of  the  said  denominations,  but 
affording  fellowship  and  Christian  privileges  for  every 
Christian  within  its  reach.  "^ 

A  departmental  secretary  of  one  of  the  larger  denom- 
inations replied  to  the  inquiry  sent  him  regarding  the 
community  churches  of  his  denomination  as  follows: 
'^I  imderstand  by  a  Community  Church  that  you  mean 
a  community  in  which  a  church  of  one  denomination 
alone  occupies  the  field. '*^  According  to  this  statement 
any  church  of  any  denomination  alone  occupying  one 

^  E.  C.  Hayes,  American  Journal  of  Sociology,  XVI,  695. 

'^  W.  S.  Prichard,  Christian  Century,  September  7,  1918. 

3  Rolvyx  Harlan,  Ph.D.,  secretary  of  rural-life  work,  American 
Baptist  Publication  Society. 


58  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

field  would  be  a  community  church.  This  conception 
of  the  community  church  is  generally  accepted  in  so 
far  as  one  church  alone  occupying  a  field  is  concerned. 
It  is  too  inclusive,  however,  and  needs  to  be  qualified 
in  some  respects.  Several  pastors  of  such  churches 
wrote  in  substance  as  follows:  "This  is  not  strictly 
speaking  a  Community  Church  although  it  is  the  only 
church  in  the  community."  The  following  quotation 
seems  to  set  forth  clearly  the  conditions  as  to  whether 
or  not  a  church  alone  occupying  a  community  is  a 
community  church: 

Indeed,  it  is  easily  possible  for  a  church  to  be  the  only  organ- 
ized religious  body  in  a  community  and  still  not  be  in  any  true 
sense  of  the  word  a  Community  Church.  A  church  which  lives 
for  itself,  for  its  own  upbuilding  and  strengthening,  for  its  own 
welfare  and  party  end,  is  not  and  cannot  possibly  be  a  Community 
Church.  The  very  word  implies  rightly  that  the  church  lives 
for  the  community,  for  the  upbuilding  and  strengthening  of  the 
community  in  all  moral  and  material  ends,  for  the  welfare  of  the 
whole  community.^ 

One  of  the  qualifications  of  the  definition  of  the  Community 
Church  that  is  generally  accepted  is  that  it  is  the  only  church  in 
the  community.  The  term  "community"  itself  is  rather  a  vague 
one:  It  may  be  a  very  different  thing  when  considered  from 
various  points  of  view.  From  the  point  of  view  of  political 
administration  a  large  city  is  a  community.  From  other  points 
of  view  there  are  many  communities  in  such  a  city.  The  same 
may  be  said  of  a  county  or  other  political  unit.  A  community 
is  defined  in  the  Century  Dictionary  as:  ''A  number  of  people 
associated  together  by  the  fact  of  residence  in  the  same  locality, 
or  of  subjection  to  the  same  local  laws  and  regulations:  a  village, 
township,  or  municipality."  A  better  definition  of  a  community 
and  one  that  presents  the  meaning  in  which  it  is  used  in  this 

»  G.  B.  Bauman,  Minden,  Iowa. 


THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH— A  DEFINITION  59 

study  is  as  follows:  "The  community  is  the  larger  whole  in  which 
the  members  of  a  group  find  satisfaction  of  their  vital  needs.  The 
community  is  as  a  child  might  define  it,  'the  place  where  we  live.' 
This  includes  locality,  personal  and  social  relationship  and  vital 
experience."^ 

Another  secretary  wrote:  "The  Community  Church 
eludes  definition.  We  have  many  churches  in  Mas- 
sachusetts which  are  each  the  only  church  in  its  com- 
munity. These  churches,  however,  do  not  meet  your 
test  unless  they  are  functioning  in  the  largest  possible 
way  for  the  community."^  Here  we  have  the  quaHfying 
of  the  former  definitions  by  the  introduction  of  the 
element  of  function.  This. is  generally  recognized  as 
proper.  Pastors  of  many  churches  which  alone  occupied 
the  field,  who  others  suggested  were  pastors  of  com- 
mimity  churches,  repHed  to  the  inquiries  sent  them  that 
they  were  not  pastors  of  community  churches  because 
their  churches  did  not  meet  the  required  conditions 
especially  from  the  point  of  view  of  community  function- 
Lag.  That  there  is  no  clear  and  generally  accepted 
definition  of  this  type  of  church  is  further  substantiated 
by  an  introductory  paragraph  in  a  recent  issue  of  a 
magazine  on  "A  Community  Church  Program."^  The 
editor  said:  "The  movement  for  the  Community  Church 
finds  many  at  a  loss  to  define  the  scope  and  content  of 
its  program."  The  author  of  the  article  presents  the 
following  definition  of  it  which  he  says  was  prepared  by 
several  church  leaders  and  has  been  adopted  by  one 

^  Warren  H.  Wilson,  The  Church  of  the  Open  Country,  p.  24. 

2  John  J.  Walker,  assistant  secretary  of  the  Massachusetts  Home 
Mission  Society. 

3  Men  and  Missions,  December,  191 7. 


6o  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

distinct  ecclesiastical  body  as  an  end  to  work  to  in  an 
overchurched  community: 

A  community  church  is  a  fellowship  of  all  those  in  a  com- 
munity who  are  professed  followers  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  as  such, 
while  they  may  retain  their  denominational  faith,  are  united  to 
furnish  a  medium  through  which  they  may  foster  His  spirit  and 
advance  His  purpose.  It  seeks  to  advance  the  Kingdom  of  God 
everywhere,  and  selects  and  commends  worthy  objects  for  support 
without  primary  reference  to  denominational,  or  other  auspices 
under  which  they  may  be  conducted,  and  engages  to  transmit 
contributions  to  such  denominational  agencies  as  the  givers,  by 
groups  or  individuals,  may  designate.  It  usually  has  ecclesias- 
tical connection  with  one  of  the  established  religious  bodies,  and 
when  so  related  there  are  mutual  engagements  of  fidelity  to  the 
community  spirit  and  program.^ 

Another  conception  of  the  community  church  is 
that  it  is  not  only  to  function  in  the  largest  possible  way 
for  the  "community"  as  such,  but  that  it  is  to  serve 
all  who  are  in  the  community.  Such  a  church  is  to 
serve — function — for  those  persons  who  belong  to  the 
particular  denomination  with  which  it  is  affiliated,  or 
if  it  is  an  independent  church,  those  who  belong  to  it. 
It  is  also  to  serve  all  the  people  irrespective  of  denomi- 
nation or  church  affiHation.  This  conception,  which  is 
generally  held  by  all  community  churches  now,  is 
expressed  as  follows  by  one  of  the  pioneer  community- 
church  pastors: 

The  church  should  have  the  spirit  of  the  Master,  and,  where- 
ever  there  is  a  man,  woman,  or  child,  there  is  one  in  whom  the 
church  should  be  interested  and  whom  it  should  seek  to  serve, 
whatever  be  his  character,  condition  or  standing  socially.  It 
became  my  strong  conviction  that  the  church  has  a  definite  mis- 

^J.  E.  McAfee,  general  secretary  of  the  Presbyterian  Board  of 
Missions. 


THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH— A  DEFINITION  6i 

sion  to  every  person  within  the  possible  range  of  its  influence  and 
that  if  the  village  church  would  fulfill  its  mission,  it  must  be  a 
community  church/ 

It  was  discovered  in  this  study  that  the  community 
church  was  conceived  by  some,  not  only  to  serve  the 
whole  community,  but  also  to  serve  the  whole  life  of 
the  community  and  the  whole  life  of  the  individual.  A 
few  illustrations  of  this  conception  of  its  function  follow. 
The  pastor  of  one  such  church  expressed  the  purpose  of 
his  church  to  that  effect  as  follows:  "We  mean  to  make 
the  church  organization  meet  all  the  needs  of  the  com- 
munity in  a  social,  recreational  and  religious  way  as 
circumstances  may  require."^ 

In  the  Articles  of  Corporation  of  another  community 
church,  one  of  the  purposes  set  forth  was:  "The  support 
of  such  enterprises  as  tend  toward  the  perfect  develop- 
ment of  children  and  young  people  spiritually,  physically, 
morally  and  mentally."^ 

In  a  Foreword  to  a  survey  that  was  made  by  the 
First  United  Presbyterian  Church  of  a  section  of  Pitts- 
burgh, Pennsylvania,  the  pastor  states  the  purpose  of 
that  church  in  part  as  follows : 

To  seek  to  meet  as  best  we  can  the  needs  of  this  section  of  our 
city,  in  both  a  social  and  religious  way.  That  the  church's  chief 
function  is  to  win  the  individuals  to  a  personal  acceptance  of 
Christ  and  then  build  up  strong,  fruitful  Christian  character,  in 
each  of  these,  is  the  basic  conviction  of  my  life.  However,  it  is 
further  the  duty  of  the  church  to  be  concerned  about  the  social, 
physical,  and  mental  welfare  of  its  neighborhood.     If  the  church 

^  Harlow  S.  Mills,  A  Country  Parish,  p.  17. 

2  Rev.  Thomas  Gray,  Hurricane  Community  Church,  Franklin, 
Indiana. 

3  C.  O.  Gill,  book  in  preparation. 


62  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

is  to  prove  "the  salt  of  the  earth"  it  must  not  only  seek  to  save 
men  and  women  out  of  the  world,  but  to  do  all  t  can  to  make 
them  health  giving  centers;  thus  saving  the  world.' 

In  order  that  this  church  might  fulfil  this  conception 
of  its  mission  and  that  adequate  equipment  might  be 
provided  in  the  way  of  buildings,  etc.,  a  careful  survey 
was  made  of  the  community  in  which  it  was  located. 
This  was  done  in  order  that  the  facts  as  to  what  the 
community's  exact  needs  were  might  be  ascertained. 
One  of  the  distinctions  between  the  older  denominational 
type  of  church  and  the  community  church  seems  to  be 
that  the  former  seeks  to  fit  the  community  to  itself, 
while  the  latter  seeks  to  serve  the  community  by  first 
discovering  what  the  community's  actual  needs  are  and 
then  adapting  itself  to  meet  those  needs. 

The  pastor  of  one  of  the  best  and  most  widely  known 
rural  community  churches,  in  writing  of  his  work  in 
that  respect,  definitely  points  out  in  the  following  that 
this  is  a  fundamental  characteristic  of  a  community 
church: 

Jesus,  the  head  of  the  church,  once  said,  "I  came  not  to  be 
ministered  unto,  but  to  minister."  Believing,  therefore,  that  he 
intended  his  church  to  be  a  ministering  church,  I  began  at  Du 
Page  with  the  idea  that  religion  has  to  do  with  the  whole  man — 
body,  mind  and  spirit;  that  it  deeply  concerns  the  social  life,  his 
business  life,  his  education,  his  amusements  and  everything  else 
that  pertains  to  a  man's  well  being.^ 

This  same  conception  of  the  function  of  the  com- 
munity church  was  voiced  in  an  address  delivered  in 

'  A  Social  Survey  of  the  Twenty-second  and  Twenty-third  Wards, 
North  Side,  Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  April-May,  1915. 

2  Matthew  Brown  McNutt^  Modern  Methods  in  the  Country  Churchy 
pp.  11-12. 


THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH— A  DEFINITION  63 

1 9 10  by  the  president  of  one  of  the  pioneer  community 
churches  in  a  large  city:  "OHvet  Institute  is  an  unique 
thing,  not  alone  in  Chicago,  but  in  the  world.  Unique 
not  so  much  as  to  the  different  kinds  of  work  as  a  whole, 
but  in  that  it  stands  for  universal  ministry  in  the  name 
of  Jesus  Christ."^ 

It  has  been  seen  that  the  community  church  seeks 
to  minister  to  or  to  serve  the  whole  community,  and  all 
the  interests  in  the  particular  community  in  which  it  is 
located.  In  order  to  function  most  effectively  in  that 
respect,  the  particular  conditions  of  the  community 
must  be  known,  and  the  activities  adapted  according 
to  the  facts.  Facts  are  the  only  sure  foundation  upon 
which  to  formulate  a  course  of  action.  It  has  been  said: 
"All  reasoning  that  is  valid  is  based  upon  facts.  The 
form  being  correct  the  reasoning  will  be  as  vaHd,  as 
perfect,  and  as  correct  as  the  facts  are  that  are  used  in 
the  premises.  A  prior  reasoning  has  no  standing  among 
scientists."^ 

The  plan  of  procedure  of  ministration,  in  order  to 
be  effective  and  efficient,  must  be  adapted  to  the  par- 
ticular situation  in  the  community.  No  universal  plan 
can  be  devised  that  will  fit  all  situations.  The  particular 
conditions  of  each  community  will  have  to  determine  the 
ways  in  which  the  church  of  that  community  should 
function  and  be  most  efficient.  The  facts  can  be  secured 
only  by  making  a  careful  study  or  survey  of  the  com- 
mimity.  A  survey  furnishes  a  rehable  basis  for  the 
formulation    of   plans    for    ministration.     This    is    the 

^  Andrew  C.  Zenos. 

^  E.  C.  Hayes,  lecture  at  University  of  Chicago,  Summer  Quarter, 
1918. 


64  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

scientific  method  and  is  the  one  used  by  the  community 
church.  It  is  a  new  departure  on  behalf  of  the  church. 
It  shows  how  it  is  seeking  to  adapt  itself  to  the  situations 
confronting  it.  It  gives  the  church  a  scientific  basis  for 
rational  planning  and  makes  effective  functioning  possible. 
It  has  been  previously  noted  that  one  community 
church  made  a  survey  of  its  field  in  order  to  provide 
equipment  for  functioning  most  efficiently.^  Many 
such  churches  were  formed  only  after  a  survey  of  the 
community  had  been  made.  The  writer  knows  person- 
ally of  one  such  church  of  which  not  only  the  equipment 
and  activities  were  determined  upon  the  basis  of  the 
survey  that  had  been  made  in  the  community,  but  also 
its  denominational  affiliation."^  It  was  through  a  survey 
by  the  Home  Mission  Council  of  Washington,  covering 
over  i,ooo  school  districts,  having  a  total  population  of 
702,291,  that  it  discovered  the  real  situation  as  to  over- 
lapping and  overlooking  and  waste  in  the  expenditure 
of  men  and  money,  the  decadent  condition  of  many  of 
the  churches  in  the  surveyed  territory,  the  inefficient 

^  The  United  Presbyterian  Church,  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 

2  The  Bryn  Mawr  Community  Church,  Congregational,  Chicago. 
A  survey  was  made  of  the  community  by  some  laymen  in  order  to  deter- 
mine the  denominational  situation  of  the  community.  It  was  dis- 
covered that  the  denominational  strength  was  in  the  following  order: 
Presbyterian,  Congregational,  Baptist,  Methodist,  Disciples  of  Christ, 
Christian  Science,  Lutheran,  and  Quaker.  The  whole  matter  was 
taken  up  with  the  City  Federation  of  Churches.  There  is  an  agreement 
between  the  denominations  composing  this  organization  that  comity 
shall  be  practiced  among  them  and  that  only  one  denomination  shall 
occupy  a  new  field.  The  Presbyterian  church,  according  to  the  survey, 
would  have  had  priority.  That  denomination  was  not  prepared  just 
at  that  time  to  adequately  care  for  the  situation  and  graciously  con- 
ceded the  field  to  the  Congregationalists,  who  built  the  present  com- 
munity church. 


THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH— A  DEFINITION  65 

way  in  which  they  were  functioning,  and  that  it  recom- 
mended the  reorganization  of  the  whole  field  and  the 
establishment  of  community  churches  in  various  com- 
munities. Thus  they  approached  the  problems  in  a 
scientific  manner,  and  by  doing  so  they  were  able  to 
organize  or  reorganize  themselves  in  such  a  way  as  to 
meet  the  immediate  and  practical  demands  of  the 
social  situation  confronting  them  in  the  community. 
This  is  probably  the  reason  for  the  popularity,  rapid 
increase,  and  efficiency  of  this  type  of  church. 

This  study  revealed  the  fact  that  the  community 
churches  are  extensively  using  this  method  to  determine 
four  things:  (i)  the  actual  conditions  in  the  community, 
(2)  the  needs  of  that  particular  community,  (3)  the 
activities  that  should  be  carried  on  to  meet  those  needs, 
and  (4)  the  equipment  that  is  necessary  to  carry  on  those 
activities. 

The  attempted  definitions  of  the  community  church 
indicate  that  it  is  not  only  to  be  the  only  church  in  the 
community,  attempting  to  serve  the  whole  community 
and  all  its  needs  as  revealed  by  a  survey,  but  that  it  is 
to  be  the  center  of  every  interest  of  the  community. 
This  is  pointed  out  in  the  survey  of  Lane  County,  Oregon, 
in  the  following  statement: 

The  need  is  for  a  four-square  program  for  community  develop- 
ment. We  need  the  type  of  church  that  can  fairly  be  called  the 
Community  Church,  a  church  which  views  its  mission  as  pri- 
marily building  up  the  community  in  the  interest  of  the  Kingdom; 
which  views  it  as  part  of  its  task  to  advance  every  community 
interest,  and  to  discourage  whatever  would  retard  the  develop- 
ment, and  which  is  concerned  with  the  organization  and  direction 
to  good  ends  the  community  interest  and  feeling.^ 

^  Ayers  and  Morse,  Survey,  Lane  County,  Oregon,  pp.  67-68. 


66  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

This  point  is  a  little  more  clearly  brought  out  in  the 
following  quotation: 

The  church  it  would  seem  must  take  spiritual  possession  of 
the  entire  territory  of  the  activities  in  a  community,  proclaiming 
absolute  prerogative  of  truth  in  every  concrete  social  interest. 
The  church  that  fails  at  this  point  can  at  best  merely  assume  a 
limited  social  service  and  must  find  itself  without  all  its  resources 
for  carrying  on  its  limited  work.^ 

The  point  that  the  community  church  should  be 
central  in  every  interest  of  life  has  many  illustrations. 
Three  may  be  given  here.  In  discussing  the  remedies 
for  the  existing  conditions  in  rural  communities,  Dr. 
John  L.  Gillin  gives  an  illustration  that  is  to  the  point. 
He  says: 

The  thing  that  is  needed  is  to  make  the  church  the  center  of 
the  social  life  of  the  community.  ....  Thought  must  be  taken 
by  leaders  to  make  the  church  central  in  every  interest  of  life. 
I  know  a  community  where  that  has  been  done.  It  is  a  com- 
munity located  south  of  Waterloo,  Iowa,  in  Orange  Township. 
It  is  composed  of  an  up-to-date  community  of  Pennsylvania 
Dutch  Dunkers.  From  the  very  first  they  have  made  their 
church  central.  When  the  great  changes  of  which  I  have  been 
speaking  (the  breaking  down  of  denominational  differences, 
changes  in  frontier  life  and  consequential  social  conditions) 
began  to  occur,  the  leaders  of  that  community  began  to  take 
measures  to  check-mate  the  attractions  of  the  town  for  the  young 
people.  For  example.  Fourth  of  July  was  made  a  day  of  celebra- 
tion at  the  church.  The  people  of  other  country  communities 
were  flocking  to  town  by  the  hundreds,  the  youths  of  that  com- 
munity were  gathering,  in  response  to  plans  well  thought  out 
beforehand,  to  the  church  grounds  where  patriotic  songs  were 
sung,  games  were  played,  and  a  general  good  time  was  provided 
for  the  young.  They  have  also  arranged  that  their  young  people 
have  a  place  to  come  on  Sunday  nights  where  they  may  meet  their 

^  E,  R.  Groves,  Rural  Manhood,  VI,  207-8. 


THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH— A  DEFINITION  67 

friends The  church  is  the  center  of  everything.    Is  a 

Farmer's  Institute  to  be  held  in  the  community,  or  a  Teacher's 
Institute?  The  church  is  open  to  it.  Is  a  farm  for  rent  or  for 
sale?  At  once  the  leaders  get  busy  with  their  mail  and  soon  a 
family  from  the  east  is  on  its  way  to  take  possession  of  it.  This 
country  church  has  not  remained  strong  and  dominant  in  the 
community  just  by  accident  or  even  by  federation.  It  has 
survived  because  it  has  had  wise  leaders  who  met  the  changes 
with  new  devices  to  attract  the  interest  of  the  community  and 
make  the  church  serve  the  community  in  all  its  affairs,  but 
especially  on  the  social  side.  Such  thought  takes  account  of  the 
"marginal  man"  too.  The  hired  man  and  the  hired  girls,  the 
foreigner  and  the  tramp  are  welcome  there.  No  difference  is 
made.  There  is  pure  democracy It  looks  after  the  inter- 
est not  merely  of  the  hereafter,  but  the  here  and  now.  Under  its 
fostering  care  they  form  their  life  attachments,  it  provides  for 
their  social  pleasures,  it  is  the  center  to  which  they  come  to  discuss 
their  farming  affairs,  or  whatsoever  interests  them.^ 

The  foregoing  is  an  example  of  a  church  promoting  the 
general  welfare  of  the  community  or  being  central  in 
every  interest  of  it,  in  which  all  the  people  belong  to  a 
peculiar  ''nationality"  and  denomination. 

The  next  illustration  is  that  of  a  church  where  no 
such  unity  either  as  to  nationahty  or  denominations 
existed,  but  where  there  was  not  only  no  unity  in  either 
of  these  respects,  but  wide  diversity,  and  where  the 
officials  of  the  church  had  not  had  any  such  compre- 
hensive vision  of  its  function  as  in  the  foregoing  instance. 
While  the  conditions  of  this  illustration  were  in  a  general 
way  known  to  the  author,  they  are  here  presented  by 
the  following  quotation: 

A  few  years  ago,  Harmony,  Missouri,  had  its  little  cross-roads 
chapel.    The  idea  of  making  the  church  the  center  of  the  social 

^  American  Journal  of  Sociology ^  XVI,  699-700. 


THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH— A  DEFINITION  69 

life  seemed  to  some  the  very  pitch  of  sacrilege.  But  Rev.  C.  R. 
Green  had  the  vision  and  the  heart  to  undertake  it,  and  he  has 
led  his  five-hundred  people,  within  twenty-three  and  a  half  square 
miles  into  road  making,  scientific  farming,  and  unity  of  purpose 
for  the  whole  community.  They  have  elevated  the  civic  standards 
for  the  county.  They  had  an  annual  homecoming  in  June,  that 
in  spite  of  the  rains,  brought  3,000  people  into  the  auditorium, 
and  as  many  more  could  not  gain  entrance.  But  with  its  social 
ideal  this  church  has  never  neglected  the  spiritual  needs  of  the 
community.^ 

The  third  illustration  of  this  point  is  that  secured 
from  the  pastor  of  the  community  church  at  Wauconda, 
Illinois,  some  forty  miles  from  Chicago.  Wauconda 
has  a  population  of  about  425  in  the  winter  and  3,000  in 
the  summer.  This  variation  of  population  is  due  to 
the  fact  that  it  is  a  tourist  resort,  being  situated  on 
beautiful  Bangs  Lake.  At  one  time  Wauconda  had 
three  churches,  a  Baptist,  a  Methodist,  and  a  Catholic. 
When  the  present  pastor  took  charge  of  the  work  in 
January,  191 7,  he  found  ''religion  on  a  side  street" 
and  the  church  an  inconsiderate  factor  in  the  community. 
A  federation  had  been  entered  into  by  the  two  Protestant 
churches,  but  the  federated  church  had  not  functioned 
so  as  to  change  the  indifference  of  the  people  of  the 
community,  or  as  to,  in  any  vital  sort  of  way,  influence 
Its  social  life.  There  was  no  existing  vital  relation 
between  the  church  and  the  community.  Activities  to 
meet  the  social  demands  of  the  community  were  carried 
on  by  organizations  outside  of  the  church.  The  pastor's 
view  of  the  church's  mission  was  that  ''it  should  estab- 
Ksh  the  Kingdom  of  God  in  the  community";  that  it 
should  Christianize  the  community;  that  it  should  make 

^  John  F.  Cowan,  Homlletlc  Review,  LXXV,  125. 


70  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

the  community  better;  that  it  should  promote  the  wel- 
fare of  the  whole  community  in  every  respect.  Instead 
of  the  church  being  in  no  vital  way  necessary  to  the 
community  he  sought  to  make  it  central  and  indispen- 
sable to  it. 

In  order  to  bring  about  this  change,  he  sought  to 
establish  "friendly  relations"  between  the  church  and 
the  community.  The  first  step  in  that  direction  was 
by  way  of  forming  social  and  recreational  activities  for 
the  boys.  The  Boy  Scout  work  was  taken  up.  Basket- 
ball teams  were  organized.  The  Baptist  church  build- 
ing was  fitted  up  and  used  as  a  community  house  where 
various  social  organizations  met  and  carried  on  their 
activities.  Next  a  meeting  of  the  representative  men 
of  the  community  was  called  and  a  cabinet  formed  to 
study  the  community's  needs  and  devise  means  of 
meeting  them.  This  cabinet  was  composed  of  repre- 
sentatives of  the  various  interests  of  the  community. 
The  doctor  represented  the  health  interest,  the  principal 
of  the  school  the  educational  interest,  the  athletic 
director  of  the  school. the  recreational  interest,  the  pastor 
of  the  church  the  religious  interest,  and  the  mayor  of 
the  town  the  civic  interest  and  the  general  welfare  of 
the  community.  By  means  of  this  cabinet  the  church 
established  a  vital  relationship  between  the  whole  com- 
munity and  all  its  interests.  The  people  were  brought 
together  to  consider  their  common  problems.  The 
church  soon  established  a  friendly  relationship  with  the 
community  and  began  to  function  efiiciently  for  the 
community's  welfare. 

Each  representative  studied  the  particular  needs  of 
the  interest  he  represented  and  reported  it  to  the  cabinet. 


THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH— A  DEFINITION  71 

Then  the  cabinet  devised  means  of  meeting  those  needs. 
The  following  are  some  of  the  needs  that  were  discovered 
and  provided  for:  (i)  There  was  no  public  library  or 
reading-room  in  the  commimity.  A  room  in  the  town 
hall  was  fixed  up  and  a  magazine  and  book  exchange 
was  put  into  operation.  (2)  There  had  not  been  any 
provision  made  for  instruction  in  music.  The  church 
and  school  co-operated  and  employed  a  music  teacher 
who  gave  part  time  to  teaching  music  in  the  public 
schools  and  part  time  to  training  the  church  choir. 
One  of  the  rooms  in  the  parish  house  was  fitted  out  and 
used  for  a  studio.  A  large  choral  club  was  formed  and 
splendid  musicals  were  given  by  it.  A  fine  band  was 
organized  and  frequent  concerts  were  given.  (3)  The 
health  committee  secured  illustrated  lectures  on  various 
phases  of  health  which  resulted  in  some  good  legislation 
on  sanitation  and  much  needed  sanitary  action.  (4) 
In  order  to  provide  employment  for  the  community,  the 
cabinet  secured  the  establishment  of  a  manufacturing 
plant  that  cost  $17,000.  (5)  There  was  danger  of  the 
railroad  which  connected  Wauconda  with  Chicago  being 
discontinued.  A  local  stock  company  was  organized,  and 
the  branch  road  was  bought  and  is  now  operated  by  the 
community  itself.  (6)  There  were  four  saloons  in  the 
city.  Many  previous  attempts  had  been  made  to  close 
them .  Through  the  new  spirit  of  community  co-operation, 
brought  about  by  the  church,  they  were  voted  out. 

The  foregoing  clearly  shows  that  this  church  was  at 
the  center  of  the  Hfe  of  the  community.  All  these 
enterprises  the  pastor  considered  a  part  of  the  church's 
mission.  He  said:  "I  think  it  the  business  of  the 
church  to  bring  salvation  to  the  community.     What  is 


72  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

salvation?  It  is  the  Christianizing  of  the  whole  com- 
munity and  every  interest  of  it/'^ 

The  community  church,  by  serving  the  whole  com- 
munity and  by  meeting  all  the  needs  of  the  whole  com- 
munity, fills  the  growing  demand  for  economy  on  the 
part  of  the  church.  It  may  be  said  that  the  prevalence 
of  economic  waste  caused  by  denominational  overlapping 
and  competition  is  one  of  the  underlying  causes  for  the 
rise  of  this  type  of  church.  Economic  necessity  has 
been  a  prime  factor  in  the  formation  of  many  such 
churches.  What  was  said  about  the  formation  of  the 
federated  church  of  Marion,  Kansas,  may  be  said  of  the 
formation  of  many  community  churches,  viz. :  ''It  would 
not  be  accurate  to  say  that  the  motives  were  exclusively 
spiritual:  church  folks,  like  others,  are  not  strangers  to 
economic  expediency.  The  existing  conditions  suggested 
such  expediency,  for  neither  church  was  strong  in  num- 
bers or  dollars."^ 

George  Frederick  Wells  has  pointed  out  in  this  con- 
nection that  the  outstanding  fact  in  the  rural-church 
movement  is  the  need  of  co-operation  and  federation  of 
the  rural  churches.^  The  people  themselves  have  come 
to  see  the  enormous  economic  waste  in  the  present 
system  of  church  rivalry  in  the  rural  communities,  and 
are  ceasing  to  attend  and  support  competing  institu- 
tions, or  are  planning  schemes  of  co-operation  and 
federation  in  certain  places. 

The  same  may  be  said  with  equal  truth  of  many 
city   communities.     The   community   church    prevents 

^  Rev.  W.  C.  Curtis. 

^  W.  W.  Church,  Christian  Century,  May  25,  1915. 

3  Christian  Advocate,  November  6,  1913. 


THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH— A  DEFINITION  73 

overlapping,  duplication  of  service  and  material  equip- 
ment, and  expenditure  for  maintenance.  There  is 
economy,  moreover,  because  the  church  is  being  used 
"seven  days  out  of  the  week."  There  is  also  economy 
in  men,  the  duplication  being  eliminated.  Ministers 
are  set  free  for  other  fields.  What  has  been  done  by 
federation  in  one  state,  according  to  the  following,  has 
been  done  in  many  other  instances  by  establishing  com- 
munity churches:  "Ten  examples  in  one  state  have  been 
observed  to  give  each  of  the  formerly  struggling  and  de- 
cendent  parishes  strong  and  well  paid  pastors,  and,  at  the 
same  time,  to  release  ten  ministers  for  more  needy  fields."^ 

Thus  we  see  that  the  community  church  brings 
about  economy  in  a  very  vital  way  by  preventing  the 
waste  of  money  and  man  power. 

Closely  related  to  the  question  of  economy  is  that  of 
efficiency.  There  can  be  no  economy  in  reality  if  there 
is  not  efficiency.  The  fact  that  the  community  church 
is  the  only  church  in  the  community,  and  that  it  seeks 
the  maximum  direct  service  in  behalf  of  the  community, 
carries  with  it  the  implication  that  it  seeks  at  least  to 
be  efficient.  This  is  one  of  the  fundamental  objectives 
of  this  type  of  church.  If  the  reports  of  them  be  judged 
according  to  ordinary  standards  they  will  be  found  to 
be  efficient.  Many  illustrations  of  this  might  be  given. 
Two  are  sufficient.  One  is  the  Church  of  the  Brethren 
near  Waterloo,  Iowa,  which  has  already  been  mentioned.^ 
It  had  eleven  members  when  it  was  organized.  After 
worshiping  in  private  homes  and  schoolhouses  for  twelve 
years,  they  put  up  a  building  good  enough  for  a  city  of 
5o,cxx)  people;    they  have  a  membership  of  400  and  a 

'  George  Frederick  Wells,  loc.  cit.  ^  See  p.  66. 


74  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

Sunday  school  averaging  325  in  attendance.'  That  this 
church  is  at  the  very  center  of  the  Hfe  of  the  community 
and  that  it  is  a  vital  force  socially  has  already  been 
pointed  out.  It  is  efl&cient  in  every  sense  of  the 
word.^ 

Another  illustration  of  such  a  church  is  one  in  a  town 
of  536  people  in  Massachusetts,  formed  from  two 
struggling  churches.  Before  the  formation  of  the  com- 
mimity  church  the  attendance  had  been  100.  It  is 
now  200.  There  are  now  356  of  the  population  con- 
nected with  the  Simday  school.  In  the  four  years 
before  the  union  there  had  been  four  additions,  and  in 
the  same  time  since  the  union  there  have  been  sixty 
additions.  The  pastor's  salary  has  been  increased  many 
times. 

It  has  been  frequently  stated  before  that  the  com- 
munity church  is  the  only  church  in  the  community, 
and,  moreover,  that  it  seeks  to  serve  all  the  people  of 
that  commmiity.  It  has  also  been  pointed  out  that  it 
includes  in  its  fellowship  Christians  of  any  and  all  of 
the  denominations  represented  in  the  community.  This 
would  seem  to  indicate  that  the  community  church  is 
one  in  which  denominational  unity  is  a  fundamental 
principle.  If  the  constitutions  and  by-laws  and  articles 
of  agreement  and  incorporation  of  such  churches  are 
examined,  it  will  be  discovered  that  such  is  really  the 
case.  The  Preamble  to  the  Articles  of  Association  of 
the  First  Church  of  Collegeport,  Texas,  is  a  typical 
illustration.    It  contains  the  following: 

Whereas,  We,  the  citizens  of  Collegeport,  and  vicinity, 
realize  the  need  of  a  church  in  Collegeport,  and 

'  John  F.  Cowan,  loc.  cii.  *  See  cut  of  church,  p.  68. 


THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH— A  DEFINITION  75 

Whereas,  We  belong  to  different  denominations  and  faiths, 
none  of  which  have  a  sufficient  number  of  adherents  to  support 
and  maintain  a  suitable  church  at  the  present  time,  and 

Whereas,  The  day  has  arrived  when  men  and  women  have 
learned  to  emphasize  their  common  ideals  and  service,  in  the 
interest  of  the  best  and  highest  citizenship  and  for  the  glory  of 
God,  we  join  together  and  agree  to  the  following  articles* 

In  a  bulletin  issued  by  the  Massachusetts  Federation 
of  Churches  on  The  Consolidation  of  Churches j^  the  follow- 
ing occurs  which  is  to  the  point:  *'They  may  unite  with 
fairness  to  the  local  denominations.  The  resulting 
church  must  necessarily  be  in  spirit  a  Community 
Church,  and  catholic  and  tolerant,  flexible  and  compre- 
hensive in  worship  and  work.  Such  community 
churches  uniting  people  of  many  original  faiths,  are 
already  happily  found  in  all  leading  denominations." 

Denominational  unity  is  not  only  a  fundamental 
principle  of  the  community  churches.  They  actually 
practice  it.  To  present  the  evidence  of  this  fact  here 
would  take  us  too  far  afield  from  the  purpose  of  this 
chapter.    It  will,  however,  be  suJSiciently  presented  later.^ 

The  basis  for  such  an  attitude  and  practice  seems  to 
be  well  set  forth  in  the  manual  of  another  one  of  these 
churches : 

The  groundwork  lies  first,  in  the  fact  that  evangelical 
Christians  and  evangelical  denominations  are  of  a  family,  and  are 
so  much  alike  that  there  are  no  reasons  of  a  vital  or  fundamental 
principle  to  hold  local  churches  apart  where  the  demands  of  the 
situation  calls  for  combined  effort,  and  second,  in  the  growing  and 
compelling  reasons,  the  attractive  and  practical  goals  that  urge 
co-operative  and  united  Christian  effort.3 

^  Bulletin  No.  i.  New  Series,  second  edition,  January,  1914. 

'  See  chap.  vi. 

3  Manual  of  the  United  Churches,  Garrettsville,  Ohio. 


^6  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

The  foregoing  statement  as  to  denominational  unity 
raises  the  question  as  to  the  attitude  of  the  community 
churches  toward  doctrine  and  creeds.  The  impKcation 
is  that  no  doctrinal  or  creedal  test  of  fellowships  is 
required.  Some  such  churches  require  that  their 
doctrines  shall  be  those  that  are  common  to  the  bodies 
that  are  affihated  with  the  Federal  Council  of  the 
Churches  of  Christ  in  America.  The  constitution  of 
this  organization  avowedly  declares  that  it  does  not 
require  any  creedal  test  for  membership.'  The  almost 
universal  practice  of  such  churches  is  to  accept  into 
their  fellowship  and  to  dismiss  from  it  to  other  churches 
the  members  of  any  Christian  denomination  irrespective 
of  creed  or  sacramental  practice. 

This  is  illustrated  by  the  practice  of  the  Winnetka 
Congregational  Community  Church,  Winnetka,  Illinois, 
which  may  be  said  to  be  typical  in  this  respect.  The 
following  is  found  in  its  Year  Book: 

The  differences  between  denominations,  once  acute  and 
important,  are  now  no  longer  for  the  most  part  even  interesting. 
The  crying  need  for  our  day  is  for  a  united  Christianity,  for  unsel- 
fish and  singleminded  devotion  to  the  one  church  of  Christ.  We 
welcome,  therefore,  into  our  fellowship  those  from  all  denomina- 
tions, and  we  as  cordially  dismiss  our  members  to  all  denomina- 
tions. We  seek  to  promote  the  new  Christianity  which  the  new 
day  requires  and  to  discourage  the  old  sectarianism.^ 

This  church  does  not  require  a  subscription  to  any 
creed  as  a  condition  to  membership.  The  following  was 
secured  from  the  same  source  as  the  preceding  quotation : 

The  several  creeds  of  the  church  are  of  great  historic  interest. 
They  present  the  development  and  crystallization  of  Christian 

^  Article  V,  Section  4. 

'  Year  Book  and  Directory  of  Members  (1918),  p.  7. 


THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH— A  DEFINITION  77 

thought  at  certain  stages,  but  for  the  very  reason  that  they  were 
the  products  of  special  conditions  they  are  unsuitable  for  final 
statement  of  truth.  They  tend  to  bind  the  consciences  and 
stifle  the  spirit  of  living  men.  Therefore,  we  do  not  require  any 
one  to  subscribe  to  any  creed  as  a  condition  of  membership  in 
our  church.  "Credo"  means  "I  believe."  The  great  thing  is 
to  believe  something  ourselves,  rather  than  to  agree  with  what 
others  have  believed. 

The  position  in  this  respect  is  splendidly  illustrated 
by  the  practice  of  a  church  in  Ohio.  In  this  church 
*'no  member  was  asked  to  alter  any  of  his  beliefs  and 
any  candidate  for  admission  might  choose  his  own 
method  of  being  received  provided  it  was  one  used  in 
some  evangelical  church."^  When  this  church  selected 
its  pastor  his  denomination  was  not  known  nor  an- 
nounced.    It  was  not  regarded  as  important. 

What  is  said  of  such  churches  in  Colorado,  then, 
applies  to  nearly  all  of  them:  ''A  fundamental  principle 
of  these  organizations  is  that  they  have  no  doctrinal  test 
for  fellowship."^  The  author  of  this  statement  adds  to 
the  foregoing:  ''I  teach  them  that  it  is  not  necessary 
to  believe  alike  in  order  to  work  together  and  to 
worship  together."  This  seems  to  be  the  prevalent  view 
among  such  churches.  However,  some  of  them  of  the 
''denominational  type"  require  an  assent  to  the  par- 
ticular tenets  of  the  denomination  with  which  they  are 
affiliated.  They  arrange  for  admitting  into  their  fellow- 
ship those  who  do  not  wish  to  subscribe  to  these  tenets, 
but  wish  to  co-operate  and  fellowship  with  them,  by 
means  of  an  ''associate  membership."  Such  persons  are 
considered  to  all  intents  and  purposes  real  members. 

^  C.  O.  Gill,  book  in  preparation. 

^  J.  Mack  Mills,  Christian  Century,  March  23,  1916. 


78  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

As  one  minister  said  to  the  author,  "We  admit  them 
as  associate  members  and  straightway  forget  that  they 
are  such." 

The  preceding  would  furthermore  indicate  that 
democracy  is  an  important  characteristic  of  such 
churches.  This  seems  to  follow  because  it  seeks  to 
serve  the  whole  community.  That  this  is  the  case  is 
evident  from  the  fact  that  all  classes  of  people,  irre- 
spective of  nationaUty,  creed,  or  economic  status,  are 
found  in  the  membership  of  community  churches.  This 
is  illustrated  by  the  Church  of  the  Brethren,  and  has 
previously  been  pointed  out.^  Another  illustration  is 
that  of  the  Congregational  Community  Church  at  Win- 
netka,  Illinois.  In  this  church  are  found  people  of  all 
economic  conditions  from  the  section  hand  on  the  rail- 
road and  the  servant  girl  in  the  home  to  the  multi- 
millionaire business  man  of  Chicago  who  resides  in  the 
community.  Moreover,  in  this  particular  church  there 
are  affiliated  not  only  people  belonging  to  the  evangelical 
Christian  denominations,  but  also  from  the  Catholic 
church.  Jews  are  also  substantial  supporters  of  its 
enterprises.  Furthermore,  these  churches  are  demo- 
cratic in  the  sense  that  each  one  determines  for  itself 
all  matters  as  to  doctrine,  polity,  and  activity.  They 
are  thus  seen  to  be  really  democratic. 

From  the  foregoing  it  is  evident  that  the  community 
church  is  a  new  type.  It  may  furthermore  be  said  to 
be  in  the  process  of  becoming,  i.e.,  it  has  not  yet  reached 
its  final  form.  It  has  so  far  evolved,  however,  that  some 
of  its  characteristics  are  now  quite  evident.  Among 
them  are  the  following:   (i)  it  is  the  only  church  in  the 

^  See  p.  66. 


THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH— A  DEFINITION  79 

community;  (2)  it  seeks  to  minister  to  the  whole  com- 
munity; (3)  it  seeks  to  promote  the  general  welfare  of 
the  community;  (4)  it  seeks  to  be  the  center  of  the 
whole  life  of  the  community;  (5)  it  brings  about  economy 
in  ministration;  (6)  it  functions  efficiently;  (7)  denom- 
inational unity  is  practiced  in  it;  (8)  it  is  democratic  in 
spirit  and  practice. 

The  community  church,  then,  may  be  defined  as  the 
church  which  is  the  only  one  in  a  community,  being 
composed  of  or  seeking  to  admit  the  representatives  of 
all  the  various  denominations  in  the  community  into  its 
membership;  which  seeks  to  minister  to  the  whole  life 
of  the  community  and  to  the  whole  life  of  all  the  people 
in  it,  and  to  do  so  economically  and  efficiently. 


CHAPTER  V 
TYPES  OF  COMMUNITY  CHURCHES 

This  study  of  the  community  churches  has  revealed 
the  fact  that  great  variety  exists  among  them  in  some 
respects.  Upon  careful  inspection  it  was  discovered, 
however,  that  they  lend  themselves,  in  the  main,  quite 
readily  to  classification.  Two  distinct  groups  as  to 
types  were  discovered.  They  may  be  classified  from 
the  standpoint  of  types:  (i)  as  to  poHty,  and  (2)  as  to 
the  kind  of  community  in  which  they  are  located. 
There  is  a  third  group  which  is  not  as  distinct  as  the 
other  two,  or  as  easily  classified.  It  is  of  so  much 
importance  as  to  warrant  rather  careful  consideration. 
It  has  been  designated  the  border-line  group,  for  the 
churches  composing  it  seem  to  be  of  that  character,  i.e., 
on  the  border  line  of  the  community  church.  These 
groups  will  now  be  given  further  consideration  in  the 
foregoing  order. 

It  was  discovered  that  there  were  three  distinct  types 
as  to  poHty.  They  are:  (i)  the  denominational,  (2) 
the  federated,  (3)  the  union  types  of  community 
churches.'  The  denominational  community  church  is 
the  only  one  in  the  community  and  receives  all  Chris- 
tians of  whatever  name  and  faith  into  its  membership, 
and  seeks  to  promote  all  the  interests  of  the  community 
in  a  vital  way.^  It  retains  its  denominational  affiliation 
and  is  subject  to  the  general  denominational  organiza- 
tion and  polity  to  which  any  other  church  of  the  denom- 
ination is  subject.     Good  examples  of  such  churches  are 

80 


TYPES  OF  COMMUNITY  CHURCHES  8l 

the  Congregational  Community  Church  at  Winnetka, 
Illinois,  and  the  Fourth  Presbyterian  Church,  Pitts- 
burgh, Pennsylvania. 

A  federated  community  church  is  one  which  is  the 
result  of  the  federation  of  all  the  churches  in  the  com- 
munity—two or  more — of  different  denominations  into 
a  single  church  for  all  local  purposes.  It  has  the  com- 
munity attitude,  i.e.,  it  seeks  to  minister  to  all  the 
needs  of  the  community.  It  maintains  a  denomina-  '•'^ 
tional  affiliation  with  some  denomination  represented  in 
the  federation,  or  with  some  other  denomination.  An 
illustration  of  the  former  is  the  Wauconda  Community 
Church,  Wauconda,  Illinois.  It  is  the  result  of  the 
federation  of  the  Baptist  and  the  Methodist  churches 
and  is  affiliated  with  the  Baptist  denomination.  An 
example  of  the  latter  is  the  Hurricane  Community 
Church,  a  federation  of  the  Baptist,  Presbyterian,  and 
Protestant  Methodist  churches.  It  affiliated  itself  with 
the  Congregational  denomination. 

The  union  community  church  is  one  that  is  alone 
in  the  community  seeking  to  function  as  a  church  for 
the  whole  community,  ''into  which  may  come  every 
variety  of  faith  and  experience, "  but  which  is  independ- 
ent of  all  other  ecclesiastical  organizations.  Such  a 
church  may  be  formed  in  a  community  where  no  church 
exists,  as  at  Beach,  Iowa,  or  it  may  be  the  result  of  the 
union  of  two  or  more  churches  as  at  Collegeport,  Texas, 
or  Garrettsville,  Ohio. 

In  respect  to  the  kind  of  communities  in  which  such 
churches  are  located,  four  types  were  discovered,  viz.,      ^ 
the  open   country,   the  village   or__ hamlet,    the   small 
town,  and  a  community  in  a  large  city.    The  first  type 


\ 


82  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

is  that  of  a  church  which  is  located  alone  in  the  open 
country.  Several  such  churches  were  found  among 
which  are  the  Oak  Mound  Congregational  Church  near 
Fargo,  North  DakotaTj'the  Du  Page  Presbyterian  Church 
near  Naperville,  Illinois,  and  the  Woodlawn  Baptist 
Church  in  Southwest  Tennessee. 

The  second  type  is  illustrated  by  the  community 
church  at  Marley,  Illinois.  It  is  the  only  church  in  a 
little  hamlet  consisting  of  a  general  store,  blacksmith- 
shop,  a  schoolhouse,  post-office,  church,  and  a  few 
residences.  The  third  type  is  represented  by  the  com- 
munity church  at  Sheridan,  Illinois,  a  small  town  of 
some  five  or  six  hundred  people.  The  fourth,  that  of  a 
church  in  a  community,  the  bounds  of  which  are  pretty 
definitely  deterniined,  in  a  large  city  is  represented  by 
the  Washington  Park  Community  Methodist  Church, 
Denver,  Colorado,  which  is  the  only  church  in  a  large 
newly  formed  residence  section.  Olivet  Institute, 
located  a  short  distance  from  the  "Loop''  in  Chicago, 
in  the  midst  of  a  community  of  25,000  people,  is  another 
representative.  It  is  the  only  Protestant  church  in  the 
commimity  and  has  received  into  its  membership  repre- 
sentatives of  sixteen  different  nationahties  and  seventeen 
denominations,  among  the  latter  being  154  Catholics 
and  3  Jews.^ 

The  third  group  of  community  churches  are  churches 
or  fellowships  that  do  not  meet  all  the  conditions  of  the 
general  conception  of  the  community  church.  They 
are  just  on  the  border  line  between  the  older  type  of 
church  and  the  newly  evolving  community  type.  They 
are  weather  vanes,  so  to  speak,  indicating  the  direction 


84  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

the  trend  is  taking  in  the  present  changing  social  situa- 
tion. In  just  what  respects  they  are  border-line  churches 
may  best  be  observed  by  presenting  their  environment, 
their  activities,  and  their  attitudes.  Five  such  churches 
or  organizations  have  been  selected  from  a  much  larger 
number  of  this  type  for  such  presentation.  They„are 
all  illustrative  of  the  trend  toward  co-operation,  comity, 

fpHf^ratinn,  anH  \ini<^y — * 

The  first  of  these  cases  that  will  be  given  considera- 
tion is  that  of  a  special  religious  sect  which  alone  occu- 
pies a  certain  community.  Frequently  such  a  group  is 
not  composed  of  one  nationality  alone,  but  of  several. 
All  the  people  in  the  community,  however,  are  of  one 
faith,  or  denomination.  The  Catholics  have  many  such 
communities  and  churches  in  the  United  States.  A  good 
example  is  that  of  St.  Peter's  Roman  Catholic  Church, 
near  Ashton,  Wisconsin.  The  church  is  located  in  the 
open  country,  containing  seventy  church  families  whose 
acreage  totals  over  seventy  square  miles.  The  follow- 
ing has  been  said  of  this  church  and  community: 

The  present  parish  priest  has  been  pastor  of  this  flock  for 
ten  years,  sharing  in  their  life  and  problems.  The  parish  property 
with  its  classic  cut-stone  church,  rectory,  school,  and  beautiful 
cemetery,  is  the  gracious  human  center  of  this  community,  serving 
as  a  model  and  inspiration  for  the  people  in  many  particulars. 

Series  of  lectures  to  the  young  men  of  the  farms  in  the  school 
building,  by  the  parish  priest,  on  topics  such  as  "Scientific  Agri- 
culture, "  ''Taking  the  Short  Course  at  the  College  of  Agriculture, " 
"Beautifying  the  Home  Farm,"  etc.,  have  during  the  years  borne 
fruit  in  sending  young  men  to  the  College  of  Agriculture  and 
generally  raising  in  the  parish  the  standard  of  rural  economy.  In 
his  ten  years  of  residence  the  priest  has  with  pleasure  seen  come 
into  the  farmsteads,  waterworks,  modem  heating  plants,  wind 
mills,  gasoline  engines,  and  silos.     Ten  years  ago  the  piano  at  the 


(72 


H 

CO 


86  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

parsonage  was  the  only  one  in  the  parish.  Now  pianos  are 
common  and  music  pupils  are  many.  With  his  automobile  the 
religious  leader  of  this  great  compact  parish  has  the  means  of 
daily  contact  with  his  parishoners,  helping  to  make  a  stable 
community  resting  upon  a  stable  agricultural  and  social  system.^ 

Another  border-line  case  is  that  in  which  a  special 
religious  sect,  the  members  of  which  are  all  of  the  same 
nationality,  occupies  a  certain  community  and  has  a 
church  of  this  type.  The  Church  of  the  Brethren,* 
which  has  previously  been  mentioned  and  considered 
at  some  length,  is  a  good  example  of  this  type.  It  is 
illustrative  of  many  others.  Attention  is  here  called 
to  this  type  of  church,  not  so  much  because  it  is  an 
example  of  denominational  unity,  although  all  in  the 
community  belong  to  the  same  denomination,  as  that 
it  is  illustrative  of  the  new  movement  toward  co- 
operation and  community  action  and  the  new  interpre- 
tation of  the  function  of  the  church,  i.e.,  that  jt_is_iiot- 
only  to  be  the  center  of  the  religious  life  of  the  com- 
munity, but  that  it  is  also  to  be  the  promoter  of  the 
welfare  of  every  interest  that  tends  toward  the  welfare 
of  the  community.  In  other  words,  the  church  is  to 
be  at  the  center  of  the  whole  life  of  the  community  and 
to  seek  its  whole  salvation,  the  social  salvation  as  well 
as  the  spiritual  salvation  of  the  individual  and  the 
community. 

Professor  Walter  Burr  says  the  following  of  such 
groups: 

Wherever  I  find  an  entire  community  of  Mennonites,  or  Ger- 
man Baptists,  or  of  Dunkards  (Church  of  the  Brethren),  or  of 

^  C.  J.  Galpin,  Wisconsin  University  Bulletin,  No.  278,  pp.  17-18. 
» See  pp.  66,  67,  and  68. 


TYPES  OF  COMMUNITY  CHURCHES  87 

River  Brethren,  the  church  is  thej:enter  of  the  community  life. 
These  particular  churches  make  much  of  religion  and  agriculture, 
and  the  religion  of  each  becomes  a  community  religion.  No  one 
needs  to  have  anything  to  say  in  such  a  neighborhood  about  the 
church  being  a  social  center,  for  it  is  already  that  by  common 
inclination  and  consent Unity  in  religious  administra- 
tion brings  about  unity  in  other  lines;  the  men  of  such  a  com- 
munity are  likely  to  be  found  joining  hands  in  production, 
marketing,  and  securing  supplies,  financing  farm  ventures,  build- 
ing telephone  lines  and  roads,  as  well  as  in  the  more  definite  social 
phases.^ 

Another  church  that  may  be  considered  under  this 
classification  is  the  community  church  of  the  Leeland 
Community  Center  near  Harlingen,  Texas.  This  center 
is  under  the  direction  of  the  Lee  Land  Company.^  It 
is  a  part  of  a  new  experiment  in  rural-community  build- 
ing. There  are  now  forty  famihes  in  it.  In  a  pamphlet 
setting  forth  the  plan  of  this  community  the  following 
statement  occurs:  "Not  many  rural  communities  of 
America  have  attempted  with  adequate  means  and  in 
a  comprehensive  way  to  organize  their  social  life  and 
endeavor.''  The  author  states  that  this  is  the  thing 
that  the  promoter  of  this  company  and  his  associates 
are  attempting  to  do.  They  propose  to  take  cognizance 
of  every  need  of  the  community  and  provide  for  it 
in  a  comprehensive  way  as  a  community.  Among  these 
needs  are  mentioned  the  economic,  educational,  recrea- 
tional, religious,  social,  aesthetic,  and  hygienic.  He  says 
in  respect  to  these  interests : 

It  must  not  be  lost  sight  of  that  the  purpose  of  every  commu- 
nity is  not  the  production  of  wealth  but  the  production  of  men  and 

^  Rural  Manhood,  January,  191 6. 

2  Lee  Land  Co.,  Leeland,  Tex.;  Dallas,  Tex.;  Oklahoma  City, 
Okla.;  St.  Louis,  Mo. 


88  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

women,  and  that  schools  and  Hbraries  and  recreational  facilities, 
religion,  a  dignified  social  intercourse,  music  and  art,  are  social 
forces  the  value  of  which  is  permanent  and  which  no  intelligent 
community  will  neglect.^ 

For  the  purpose  of  carrying  on  these  social  activities, 
a  tract  of  fifteen  acres  at  the  center  of  the  community 
has  been  set  aside  for  buildings.  The  immediate  plans 
call  for  a  community  house  for  social  and  recreational 
activities,  a  community  church  for  the  religious  develop- 
ment, and  a  community  school  for  education. 

This  church  is  considered  here,  not  only  because  it 
is  a  community  church,  but  also  because  it  is  part  of  an 
extraordinary  situation.  It  is  part  of  a  well-thought- 
out  scheme  for  a  whole  community.  It  is  a  part  of  the 
plan  of  the  promoters  which  seeks  to  avoid  sectarian 
divisions  and  to  promote  unity  and  co-operation  in  the 
religious  life  of  the  community  as  well  as  in  other 
respects.  In  writing  of  the  religious  interests  of  this 
community  the  author  of  the  foregoing  quotation  says: 

The  rehgious  interests  are  those  having  to  do  with  the  reli- 
gious life  of  the  members  of  the  community  and  their  obligation 
to  spread  the  principles  of  Christianity  throughout  the  world. 
Man  is  a  religious  being;  he  needs  God  just  as  he  needs  bread. 
Wise  community  planning  will  not  abandon  these  high  interests 
to  private  initiative  and  disunited  and  divisive  effort.  Here  also 
expert  leadership  and  united  action  are  indispensable.  Sectarian- 
ism is  the  enemy  of  religion.  If  the  religious  forces  of  the  com- 
munity are  divided  the  religious  life  of  the  community  will  be 
impoverished.  This  is  the  handicap  of  the  older  communities; 
sectarianism  flourishes  while  religion  languishes  and  dies.  To 
impart  these  conditions  to  a  new  community  is  the  height  of 

*Lee  Land  Co.,  Leeland,  Tex.;  Dallas,  Tex.;  Oklahoma  City, 
Okla.;  St.  Louis,  Mo. 


TYPES  OF  COMMUNITY  CHURCHES  89 

unwisdom  and  folly.  If  a  community  has  to  go  through  a  long 
period  of  sectarian  competition  for  the  purpose  of  eliminating 
the  weaker  sects  before  it  will  have  a  church  that  will  be  strong 
enough  to  minister  adequately  to  its  religious  needs,  it  will  show 
a  sad  lack  of  foresight  on  the  part  of  those  who  had  part  in  the 
community  planning/ 

Regarding  the  community  church  of  this  rural  com- 
munity center,  the  pastor  says : 

Leeland  is  to  be  saved  the  impoverishment  and  loss  of  secta- 
rian division  and  rivalries.  Its  worship  center  will  be  the  Com- 
munity Church,  organized  on  a  broad  and  liberal  basis  which 
preserves  all  the  essentials  of  the  Christian  faith,  and  maintained 
on  a  high  plane  of  dignity  and  efficiency.  At  the  center  it  will 
stand  in  the  midst  of  the  other  activities,  sanctifying  all  and  giving 
all  to  the  highest  ends.^ 

Probably  no  other  event  has  produced  so  many 
changes  as  the  recent  war.  The  church,  as  has  already 
been  pointed  out,  as  well  as  other  institutions  and  organ- 
izations, has  attempted  to  adapt  itself  to  meet  the  many 
new  conditions  that  confront  it  in  both  general  and 
particular  instances.  An  illustration  in  the  latter  respect 
is  shown  in  the  following  account: 

A  concrete  illustration  on  an  unified  Protestant  approach  to 
the  men  in  a  cantonment  is  furnished  by  the  dedication  of  a  fine 
building^in  Ayers,  Massachusetts,  to  be  operated  by  the  newly 
formed  Christian  Federation  of  the  town  in  which  Baptist,  Congre- 
gational, Methodist,  Presbyterian,  and  Unitarian  unite.  The 
cost  plus  the  maintenance  for  one  year  will  be  about  $38,000.  It 
has  an  attractive  exterior,  stained  brown  with  white  trimmings. 
The  main  auditorium  in  the  interior  is  stained  a  light  green,  which 
counteracts  any  impression  of  a  bare  tabernacle.  Its  equipment 
includes  a  large  bowling  alley,  a  good  supply  of  shower  baths, 
and  similar  facilities  and  a  few  sleeping  rooms,  reserved  chiefly 

^  Earl  Marion  Todd,  The  Leeland  Community  Plan.  ^  Ibid. 


go  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

for  the  ministers  who  may  be  working  at  Camp  Devons.  For 
the  last  six  months  an  excellent  work  has  been  carried  on,  first, 
in  the  tent,  and  then  in  a  temporary  building,  under  the  leadership 
of  A.  W.  Waidle,  a  veteran  and  successful  Y.M.C.A.  worker. 
Indeed,  the  establishment  may  be  looked  upon  as  a  Y.M.C.A. 
without  the  camp  but  carried  on  directly  by  the  churches.  It  is 
their  single  but  strong  arm  stretched  out  to  welcome  the  soldiers 
who  in  large  numbers  come  from  Camp  Devons  to  the  center  of 
the  town  every  afternoon  and  evening.  There  they  can  meet 
their  women  friends,  write  letters,  read  papers,  find  wholesome 
diversion  from  camp  duties  and  above  all  the  human  touch,  which 
counts  for  more  than  anything  else.  Appropriately  enough  this 
Christian  center  is  being  dedicated  this  week  with  a  series  of 
attractive  meetings  designed  to  impress  upon  the  soldiers  and  the 
people  of  the  community  the  great  objective  for  which  it  stands.^ 

Here  we  have  another  border-line  case.  It  is  the 
united  effort  on  the  part  of  all  the  Protestant  Christians 
of  a  community  to  meet,  if  not  all  the  needs  of  the 
community,  at  any  rate  the  largest  and  most  important. 
It  is  the  need  of  the  extra  community  that  it  is  seeking 
to  meet,  rather  than  its  own,  the  community  of  the 
army  camp.  While  this  organization  does  not  measure 
up  to  the  definition  of  a  community  church  previously 
given,  it  shows  the  tendency  toward  the  breaking  down 
of  denominational  lines  and  toward  co-operation  and 
community  of  action  on  the  part  of  religious  denomina- 
tions. 

The  fifth  church  of  this  group  is  St.  Mark's  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  South,  New  Orleans,  Louisiana.  It 
is  a  representative  of  a  large  and  ever  increasing  number 
of  denominational  churches  which  are  not  the  only 
churches  in  the  community,  but  have  a  community 
spirit  and  program.     They  seek  a  wider  ministry  than 

^  The  Congregationalist  and  Advance  (January  3,  19 18),  p.  7. 


TYPES  OF  COMMUNITY  CHURCHES  91 

the  spiritual  needs  of  their  members.     They  seek  to 
minister  to  all  the  people  of  the  community  in  every, 
way  that  ministry  is  needed  and  unprovided  for. 

This  church  is  not  the  only  one  in  the  community. 
There  is  a  small  Baptist  mission  and  a  small  Methodist 
Episcopal  church  in  it  besides  a  number  of  large  Catholic 
churches,  one  of  which,  St.  Louis  Cathedral,  is  the  most 
renowned  in  the  city.  It  is  a  denominational  church, 
inasmuch  as  the  pastors  and  deaconesses  are  all  ap- 
pointed through  the  regular  denominational  agencies. 
The  equipment,  costing  $150,000,  was  provided  by  the 
Woman's  Missionary  Council  and  the  city  division  of 
the  Home  Department  of  the  Board  of  Missions.  The 
annual  budget  of  $16,000  is  provided  through  regular 
denominational  channels.  It  is  a  community  church  in 
the  sense  that  it  seeks  to  minister  to  the  whole  com- 
munity in  which  it  is  located  and  to  the  whole  life  of 
the  community.  Its  objective  is  service  to  the  com- 
munity rather  than  to  its  membership,  to  lift  the  whole 
level  of  living  to  a  higher  plane,  to  provide  the  more 
abundant  life  for  all. 

It  is  located  in  the  Vieux  Carre,  the  old  quarter  of 
the  city.  The  parish  boundaries  are  the  Mississippi 
River,  Canal  Street,  Claiborne  Street,  and  Elysian 
Fields.  It  contains  the  old  civic  center,  the  Cabildo, 
St.  Louis  Cathedral,  Jackson  Square,  the  Pontalba 
Flats,  the  former  home  of  Spanish  Royalty,  and  many 
other  places  of  historic  interest.  It  contains  the  old 
business  section  of  the  city.  It  is  popularly  called  the 
French  quarter.  There  are  a  considerable  number  of 
French  people  living  within  these  boundaries,  but  there 
are  a  larger  number  of  Spanish  and  Italians.     There  are 


TYPES  OF  COMMUNITY  CHURCHES  93 

many  Cubans  and  Creoles.  Nearly  one- third  of  the 
30,000  population  are  Negroes.  In  addition  there  are  a 
considerable  number  of  other  nationalities,  making  a 
polyglot  population  unlike  that  found  in  any  other  city 
in  the  South. 

It  is  the  most  congested  section  of  the  city.  Most 
of  the  splendid  old  homes  have  been  converted  into 
boarding,  rooming,  small-apartment,  and  tenement 
houses.  The  author  visited  a  number  of  families  which 
lived  in  one  and  two  rooms.  Some  rooms  had  no  outside 
ventilation.  Many  live  over  stables.  The  low  eleva- 
tion— eight  feet  above  sea-level  and  sixteen  below  that 
of  the  Mississippi  River — the  humidity  of  the  air,  the 
warm  climate,  the  poor  pavement  and  drainage  in  certain 
sections,  are  conducive  to  low  vitality. 

The  congestion,  the  climatic  conditions,  the  polyglot 
population,  the  prevalent  ideals  of  this  section  of  the 
city,  confront  this  church  with  more  serious  and  diffi- 
cult problems  and  a  greater  need  for  a  virile,  constructive, 
progressive,  and  comprehensive  community  program 
than  any  other  similar  area  in  this  country.  This  is 
so  not  only  on  account  of  the  needs  of  the  community, 
but  because  of  the  lack  of  agencies  to  meet  the 
needs. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  recognized 
these  needs  some  years  ago,  and  the  Woman's  Mission- 
ary Council  established  St.  Mark's  Hall,  a  social  settle- 
ment at  908  Esplanade  Avenue  in  19 12.  A  small 
Mission  Chapel  was  built  at  Rampart  and  Governor 
Nichols  streets  in  191 7.  Services  were  held  here  in 
EngHsh,  Spanish,  and  ItaHan.  The  following  daily 
schedule  was  in  operation  at  St.  Mark's  Hall  in  1921 : 


94  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

DAILY  SCHEDULE 

Activities  of  St.  Mark's  Hall 


908  Esplanade  Ave. 
Fall  and  Winter,  1921 


Monday       i.  Playground 3 :oo  to  5 :oo  p.m. 

(For  boys) 
2.  Sewing  Class,  Fourth  and  Fifth 

Grades 3 :  30  to  5 :  00  p.m. 

Missionary  Club 3 :  30  to  5 :  00  p.m. 

(For  boys  and  girls  from  6  to  10 
years) 
Tuesday      3.  General  Clinic 2 :  30  p.m. 

4.  Cooking 3 :  30  to  5 :  GO  p.m. 

(For  girls  from  10  to  12  years) 

5.  Home  Nursing 7 :  30  to  9 :  00  p.m. 

(For  girls  14  to  18  years) 

6.  Athletic  Club 7 :  30  to  10 :  00  p.m. 

Wednesday      Playground 3:00  to  5:30  p.m. 

(For  boys) 

7.  Little  Housekeepers 3 :  30  to  5 :  00  p.m. 

(For  girls  from  8  to  10  years) 

Thursday     8.  CHnic,  Ear,  Nose,  and  Throat 2  :oo  p.m. 

9.  Woodwork 3 :  30  to  5 :  00  p.m. 

(For  boys  from  9  to  1 2  years) 

Playground 3 :  30  to  5 :  30  p.m. 

(For  boys  from  12  to  14  years) 

10.  Dental  Clinic 4:00  p.m. 

Sewing  Class 7:00  to  9:00  p.m. 

(For  young  ladies) 

11.  Boy  Scouts 7:00  to  9:00  p.m. 

Friday        12.  Supply  Store 2  :oo  to  3  :oo  p.m. 

(Second-hand  clothing  for  sale) 

General  CHnic 2 :  30  p.m. 

Home  Nursing 3 :  00  to  4 :  30  p.m. 

(For  mothers  and  homemakers) 
Playground 3:30  to  5:30  p.m. 

(For  boys) 
13.  Campfire  Girls 7 :oo  to  9 :oo  p.m. 


TYPES  OF  COMMUNITY  CHURCHES  95 

Saturday  Woodwork 9:00  to  11  :oo  a.m. 

(For  boys  from  12  to  14  years) 
Sewing    Class,    First    and 

Second  Grades 10 :  00  a.m.  to  1 2 :  00  p.m. 

Playground 2 :  00  to  5 :  30  p.m. 

(For  boys) 

14.  Sewing  Class,  Third  Grade 3:00  to  4:00  p.m. 

15.  Citizenship  Class  (month  of  October) 8:00  p.m. 

Office  Hours. — Daily  except   Sunday,  8:00  a.m.  to  12:30  p.m., 
2:00  to  6:00  P.M. 

Sunday  hours 3 : 00  to  5 :  30  p.m. 

Nurse's  office  hours 8:00  to  10:00  a.m.  daily 

(On  duty  for  vaccinations,  dressings,  and  other 
services  usually  rendered  by  a  nurse) 

Some  idea  of  the  service  rendered  may  be  gained 
from  the  report  of  the  head  resident  for  the  same  year 
which  follows : 

ST.  MARK'S  HALL 
Report,  192  i 

Number  of  families  reached 2 ,010 

Number  of  visits  made 4,610 

Number  of  visits  received 4,050 

Number  of  meetings  attended 388 

Number  of  meetings  addressed 75 

Number  enrolled  in  Woodwork 63 

Number  enrolled  in  Basket-ball 155 

Number  taking  shower  baths 516 

Number  enrolled  in  Boy  Scouts 47 

Number  enrolled  in  Cooking 25 

Number  enrolled  in  Sewing 97 

Number  enrolled  in  Kitchen  Garden 31 

Number  enrolled  in  Camp  Fire 25 

Number  members  of  Athletic  Club 137 

Number  members  of  Woodwork  Club 30 

Number  enrolled  in  Home  Nursing 42 


96  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

Report,  192  i — Continued 

Number  times  Supply  Store  was  open 28 

Nimiber  of  general  clinics  held 84 

Number  of  ear,  nose,  and  throat  clinics 32 

Number  of  dental  clinics 3 

New  cases  treated 722 

Returned  cases  treated i ^697 

Treatments  given  by  the  nurse i ,  294 

Vaccinations 345 

Hospital  patients 75 

Families  reached  through  the  clinic i  ,674 

Total  number  patients  treated 4,058 

Relief  given  to  families 25 

Bible  readings  in  homes 243 

Cottage  prayer  meetings 72 

Playground  open  every  day  except  Sunday 

On  Sunday  a  Sunday  school  was  held  at  9:30  a.m.; 
preaching  services  in  English  at  11:00  a.m.,  in  Spanish 
at  4:00  P.M.,  and  in  Italian  at  8:00  p.m. 

The  work  has  grown  so  rapidly  that  St.  Mark's  Hall 
was  entirely  inadequate  to  meet  the  needs.  The  church 
was  also  too  small  and  poorly  equipped.  The  new 
equipment,  consisting  of  three  units,  a  church,  a  women's 
building,  and  a  men's  building,  is  now  under  construc- 
tion.^ When  this  is  completed  it  will  make  possible 
the  attainment  of  the  objective  as  stated  above,  service 
to  the  whole  community  in  every  respect  in  which  there 
is  need  of  service  and  which  is  not  provided  for. 

Many  other  border-line  cases  show  something  of  the 
various  kinds  of  attempts  being  made  by  the  churches 
in  different  communities  to  meet  their  particular  prob- 
lems. An  instance  is  at  Granite  Falls,  Minnesota, 
where  two  churches  of  different  denominations  employ 

^  March,  1922. 


TYPES  OF  COMMUNITY  CHURCHES  97 

the  same  pastor.  He  gives  half  of  his  time  to  each 
church  and  preaches  in  each  on  alternate  Sundays. 
Another  case  is  the  union  church  in  the  American  Colony 
at  Cristobal,  Panama,  Canal  Zone,  in  which  all  Protes- 
tant Christians  are  affiliated  and  work  together,  but 
retain  their  membership  in  their  respective  home 
churches  in  the  United  States  proper.^  They,  as  well 
as  all  the  other  types  of  community  churches,  are  all 
examples  of  the  trend  toward  unity  on  the  part  of  the 
Christian  people,  in  order  to  eliminate  overlapping  and 
inefficiency,  and  to  bring  about  economy,  co-operation, 
and  efficiency  in  ministration. 

^  This  church  seems  to  be  an  example  of  what  has  been  called  a 
fourth  type  of  community  church,  and  has  been  described  as  follows  by 
Alfred  Williams  Anthony,  chairman  of  the  Committee  on  State  and 
Local  Federation  of  the  Federal  Council  of  the  Churches  of  Christ  in 
America:  "A  single  society  may  be  organized  and  called  a  church  or 
otherwise,  which  receives  its  membership,  members  of  many  churches, 
without  requiring  them  to  sever  existing  relationships,  and,  in  that 
community,  performs  all. the  functions  of  a  local  church,  when  in  fact, 
it  is  an  organized  body  of  individuals  who  are  members  of  other 
churches." 


CHAPTER  VI 
ACTIVITIES  OF  COMMUNITY  CHURCHES 

In  the  two  preceding  chapters  a  few  of  the  activities 
of  the  community  churches  have  been  described.  They 
were  presented  as  illustrative  material  of  what  such 
churches  really  are,  and  to  make  clear  the  distinction 
between  the  various  t3^es.  In  this  chapter  a  more 
extended  and  comprehensive  presentation  of  them  is 
made.  This  is  done  because  they  reveal  just  how  such 
churches  seek  to  minister  or  function  in  order  to  meet 
the  needs  of  the  particular  community  in  which  they 
are  located.  It  is  by  this  means,  partially  at  least,  that 
they  bring  about  the  denominational  unity  that  is  found 
in  them.  It  may  be  stated,  moreover,  that  herein 
probably  is  to  be  found  the  basis  or  norm  for  denomina- 
tional unity,  and  that  this  is  the  chief  significance  of  the 
activities  of  such  churches  as  concerns  this  study. 

The  activities  of  community  churches  will  be  con- 
sidered under  two  subdivisions:  (i)  general  activities, 
(2)  specific  activities.  Under  the  former  they  will  be 
considered  briefly  and  in  a  very  general  way,  setting 
them  forth  in  rather  broad,  general  outlines,  and  under 
the  latter  some  of  the  specific  activities  carried  on  by 
some  particular  churches  that  are  typical  are  presented. 

I.  General  activities. — The  activities  of  the  com- 
munity churches  which  have  already  been  given  were 
of  two  kinds,  individual  and  social.  That  is  to  say, 
some  of  them  concerned  individuals  and  individual  wel- 
fare  primarily,    while   others   were    more   particularly 

98 


ACTIVITIES  OF  COMMUNITY  CHURCHES  99 

concerned  with  groups  and  group  welfare,  i.e.,  with  the 
larger,  more  general  social  welfare.  The  general  activi- 
ties of  the  community  churches  are  largely  of  the  latter 
character.  They  are  such  that  "the  content  of  the 
religious  consciousness  of  the  community  may  become 
socially  efficient,  and  attain  unto  its  fullest  and  com- 
pletest  expression."^ 

They  are  such  that  they  ''serve  the  community  in 
progressive,  vital  community  building  as  one  institu- 
tion among  many  others  working  for  a  common  end."^ 
Again  they  may  be  said  to  be  such  that  the  following 
social  conception  of  religion  may  be  realized:  "Modern 
religion  is  lined  up  with  other  social  forces  in  a  definite 
attempt  to  deal  constructively  with  man's  material 
welfare  as  well  as  his  spiritual  nature  and  recognizes 
that  a  good  material  environment  is  conducive  to  the 
development  of  the  best  mental  and  moral  life."^ 

Since  their  general  activities  are  along  broad,  social 
rather  than  individual  lines,  they  are  such  as  seek  to 
correct  the  following  described  conditions : 

The  great  limitation  of  the  church  lies  in  the  fact  that  it  has 
stood  for  the  theory  that  personal  salvation  is  something  that 
can  be  attained  first  of  all  and  independently  of  social  service. 
It  has  thought  of  brotherly  love  and  Christian  living  as  simply 
an  expression,  or  as  an  effort ,  of  one's  being  a  Christian  instead 
of  a  veritable  means  of  growth  in  the  Christian  spirit.  The  church 
in  its  various  denominations  has  built  up  on  this  basis  a  series  of 
detached  societies  within  the  community  whose  main  purpose  at 
best  is  little  more  than  cultivation  of  Christian  brotherhood, 

^  H.  E.  Jensen,  Social  Idealism  and  the  Unification  of  Religious 
Forces,  p.  28. 

^  Charles  Cole,  Survey,  XXXI,  327, 

3  Paul  L.  Vogt,  Introduction  to  Rural  Sociology,  p.  309. 


lOO  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

each  in  its  own  little  social  group.  While  suggestions  are  not 
lacking  in  live  churches  that  the  spirit  of  Christ  must  be  brought 
through  the  church  to  the  community,  there  is  still  too  much 
detachment,  too  much  the  idea  of  saving  the  individual  merely 
by  bringing  him  into  the  denominational  fold  and  too  much  the 
idea  of  the  church  as  a  thing  apart  instead  of  an  acting  force  in 
the  social  group.' 

The  general  activities  of  such  churches  in  rural  com- 
munities as  revealed  by  this  survey  are  succinctly  put 
in  the  following:  "Everything,  indeed,  that  pertains  to 
the  needs  and  general  welfare  of  the  rural  community 
may  find  substantial  encouragement  in  a  live  social 
center  country  church."^ 

In  as  far  as  those  located  in  the  city  are  concerned, 
their  activities  in  this  regard  are  such  as  will  pro- 
mote: 

(i)  The  welfare  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  city;  education, 
industrial  prosperity,  public  health,  public  recreation;  (2)  the 
beauty  of  the  city;  its  parks,  streets,  institutions,  monuments, 
pubHc  buildings  and  conditions  of  living;  (3)  the  better  conditions 
and  hours  of  labor  and  the  standard  of  living;  (4)  the  protection 
of  children  and  youth,  and  (5)  honest  and  democratic  government.^ 

The  following  activities  were  outlined  by  a  general 
board  secretary  of  one  denomination  as  the  program  of 
such  churches: 

The  presentation  of  the  Christian  message;  the  advancement 
of  religious  culture;  the  raising  of  benevolences  for  both  local  and 
general  purposes;  the  promotion  of  education  in  the  community; 
the  provision  for  the  opportunity  for  intelligent  discussion  of  the 
economic,  civil,  and  general  social  problem;    the  promotion  of 

'  Irving  King,  Religious  Education,  XIII,  103-4. 
"  Men  and  Religion  Forward  Movement,  VII,  209. 
3  Charles  Cole,  loc.  cit. 


ACTIVITIES  OF  COMMtJNITy  OTURCaES,.  loi 

musical  education;  the  promotion  of  proper  amusement,  enter- 
tainment, and  recreation  for  the  people  of  the  community,  and 
the  training  for  good  citizenship.^ 

In  brief,  the  general  activities  of  community  churches 
are  largely  social  in  character,  and  relate  to  the  whole 
community  and  all  the  people  in  it.  They  seek  to  pro- 
mote the  general  welfare  of  the  whole  community  and 
all  the  people  in  it.  Such  churches  seek  to  ^^have  some- 
thing to  say  and  something  to  do  with  everything  that 
goes  to  make  up  the  life  of  man"  and  the  community. 

2.  Specific  activities. — It  may  be  said  at  the  outset  of 
the  consideration  of  the  specific  activities  of  the  com- 
munity churches  that  there  is  a  great  variety  in  this 
respect  among  them,  and  that  there  is  uniformity  only 
in  a  very  general  way.  This  is  necessarily  so,  for,  as 
has  been  previously  pointed  out,  such  churches  seek  to 
adapt  their  activities  to  the  needs  of  their  particular 
communities.  Since  there  is  great  variation  in  com- 
munities, there  is  necessarily  great  variation  in  the 
particular  activities  carried  on  by  these  churches.  For 
instance,  there  is  much  difference  between  the  specific 
activities  of  such  a  church  located  in  a  rural  community 
and  one  in  a  densely  populated  foreign  section  of  a  large 
city,  or  between  those  of  an  industrial  community  and 
of  a  splendid  residential  section  of  a  city.  It  is  quite 
true  that  there  are  some  specific  activities  that  are 
common  to  all  of  them,  such  as  the  devotional  services, 
preaching,  Sunday  school,  raising  benevolent  contribu- 
tions, etc.  In  the  main,  however,  there  is  as  much 
variation  in  this  respect  as  there  is  in  the  communities 
themselves. 

^  J.  E.  McAfee,  Presbyterian  Board  of  Home  Missions. 


102/  T^  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

Nevertheless,  while  the  above  is  true,  the  specific 
activities  of  these  churches  lend  themselves  to  grouping 
and  may  be  classified  as  follows:  (i)  devotional,  includ- 
ing preaching,  prayer  meetings,  young  people's  meetings, 
etc.;  (2)  educational;  this  is  both  '^sacred"  and  ^'secu- 
lar''— not  only  is  instruction  given  in  the  Bible  and 
religious  literature,  but  in  many  instances  it  also  is 
given  in  the  more  general  branches  of  education,  such 
as  language  study,  and  frequently  in  industrial  and 
vocational  activities;  (3)  recreational,  such  as  taking  up 
Boy  Scout  work.  Camp  Fire  activities,  forming  athletic 
teams  of  various  kinds,  and  having  contests  between 
local  and  other  such  groups;  (4)  social:  (a)  in  the  sense 
of  providing  amusement  and  entertainment,  such  as 
'special  social  events  for  special  groups  and  the  celebra- 
tion of  certain  events  by  all  the  community,  or  even 
providing  programs  and  using  moving  pictures;  (b)  in 
the  sense  of  community-welfare  activities  varying  from 
good  roads  to  household  economics;  (c)  in  the  sense  of 
social  service,  including  infant  mortaHty,  juvenile  delin- 
quency, and  community  health;  (d)  in  the  sense  of 
supporting  movements  for  social  betterment  that  are 
state,  national,  or  international  in  scope,  such  as  the 
prohibition  movement,  Red  Cross  relief  work,  etc. 

No  attempt  is  made  here  to  show  just  how  many 
community  churches  are  carrying  on  certain  specific 
activities,  but  some  of  the  activities  of  typical  ones  are 
given  which  reveal:  (i)  how  varied  these  activities  are; 
(2)  how  such  churches  have  sought  to  adapt  themselves 
to  the  needs  of  their  particular  communities  in  order  to 
function  efficiently  for  them;  and  (3)  what  their  relation- 
ship is  to  denominational  unity. 


ACTIVITIES  OF  COMMUNITY  CHURCHES  103 

Mention  has  already  been  made  of  the  Church  of 
the  Brethren  near  Waterloo,  Iowa,  and  of  the  Du  Page 
Presbyterian  Church,  near  Naperville,  Illinois,  and  of 
the  Greater  Parish  of  Benzonia,  Michigan,  and  some  of 
their  activities/  Another  may  be  here  considered  that 
is  a  good  example  of  both  the  activities  in  rural  com- 
munities of  such  churches  and  how  they  seek  to  adapt 
themselves  to  meet  the  needs  of  their  communities.  It 
is  located  in  a  community  consisting  of  220  families, 
containing  eleven  square  miles,  and  having  one  little 
village.  There  were  formerly  twenty-four  churches  in 
the  area  representing  eleven  denominations.  The  situa- 
tion, in  part,  is  as  follows : 

By  a  chain  of  somewhat  unusual  circumstances,  after  years 
of  shameful  history,  the  village  field  has  been  left  practically  to 
three  churches  forming  a  charge  under  one  pastor.  Left  alone 
in  the  field,  in  a  few  months  these  churches  felt  the  air  clear  and 
received  a  challenge  for  a  new  motive  and  more  worthy  objective. 
These  things  it  was  seen  must  mark  the  progress  of  the  church 
under  such  conditions.  First,  it  must  be  a  Community  Church 
with  sectarianism  buried;  second,  it  must  present  and  practice 
the  gospel  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  really  vitalize  men,  build- 
ing them  into  a  living  brotherhood;  this  church  must  serve  the 
community  in  progressive,  vital  community  building  as  one  institu- 
tion among  many  others  working  to  a  common  end.^ 

In  order  to  meet  the  needs  of  this  situation  the 
following  activities  were  undertaken:  (i)  "Evangelism 
was  accepted  as  the  heart  of  the  task,  but  the  evangelistic 
program  had  for  its  fundamental  object  the  making  of 

^  C.  J.  Galpin,  Types  of  Rural  Churches  (American  Baptist  Pub- 
lishing Society,  Philadelphia)  gives  several  illustrations  of  such  churches 
and  their  activities. 

2  Charles  L.  Cole,  loc.  cit. 


I04  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

community  and  world  builders  and  not  mainly  the 
lengthening  of  the  church  roll."  (2)  Community  service 
was  taken  up  by  the  young  people  and  resulted  in  provid- 
ing a  social  center  consisting  of  a  reading-room,  a  library, 
and  a  restroom.  These  were  free  to  all.  (3)  The  young 
people  substituted  amateur  plays  and  other  amuse- 
ments for  questionable  moving  pictures  and  vaudeville 
performances.  (4)  The  adults  took  advantage  of  the 
extension  lecture  service  of  state  universities  and  secured 
free  lectures  on  many  subjects  vital  to  life,  such  as  health, 
sanitation,  and  tuberculosis,  lectures  to  men  by  phy- 
sicians, lectures  on  rural  schools,  scientific  farming,  com- 
munity building,  and  special  lectures  of  interest  to  the 
young  people.  (5)  A  Farmers'  Club  was  formed.  Its 
program  includes  the  consideration  of  such  subjects  as 
good  roads,  consolidation  of  schools,  social  reforms, 
scientific  farming,  farm  co-operation,  providing  adequate 
intellectual  stimulus,  social  and  recreational  life,  sanita- 
tion, and  making  the  home  and  country  beautiful.  (6) 
A  pipe  organ  was  secured  by  the  enthusiastic  contrib- 
utors of  the  whole  community.^ 

These  activities  were  made  possible  by  the  union  of 
the  eleven  denominations  in  the  community.  A  further 
result  was  a  church  of  360  co-operating  workers  instead 
of  250  contending  sectarians.  Moreover,  instead  of 
several  little  Sunday  schools  enrolling  less  than  200, 
there  were  over  500  enrolled  in  the  one  church.  The 
fimds  for  meeting  all  expenses  of  the  church  are  raised 
by  "a  community  budget  method,"  and  no  collections 
are  taken  at  the  church. 

^  Charles  L.  Cole,  loc.  cit. 


ACTIVITIES  OF  COMMUNITY  CHURCHES  105 

The  activities  of  the  Rollo  Community  Church  are 
worthy  of  consideration.  Six  years  ago  this  church  was 
a  typical  ^'limping  country  church"  in  the  open  country, 
having  a  membership  of  sixty-five.  Since  that  time  a 
community  center  has  grown  up,  the  principal  public 
institutions  of  which  are  the  township  school  and  the 
community  church.  The  former  cost  some  $45,000,  and 
the  new  church  was  built  at  an  outlay  of  over  $20,000. 
The  equipment  of  these  two  institutions  represents  now 
about  $100,000.  The  membership  of  the  church  now  is 
150,  and  the  annual  budget  has  risen  from  $750  to 
$2,000.  The  work  of  the  school  is  very  closely  related  to 
that  of  the  church.  The  minister  says  of  this  relation: 
"It  is  hard  to  define  the  line  which  separates  the  church 
and  the  school — it  is  merely  a  technical  division."^ 

This  church  is  the  only  one  in  the  township,  and  its 
membership  is  composed  of  farmers,  with  the  exception 
of  the  teachers  of  the  school  and  the  few  business  men 
living  at  the  center.  The  congregation  is  made  up 
principally  of  farmers,  and  the  work,  services,  and  pro- 
gram of  the  church  center  around  the  needs  which  go 
with  agricultural  life.  The  first  aim  of  the  minister  was 
to  get  the  farmers  to  attend  a  country  church.  In 
order  to  do  that  he  sought  to  create  an  atmosphere  which 
best  fitted  their  frame  of  mind  and  provide  such  services 
and  activities  as  would  meet  their  problems.  Writing 
of  these  activities  the  minister  says : 

Let  me  set  down  here  the  various  activities  which  are  carried 
on  by  the  church  and  the  school,  for  I  do  not  separate  them  in 
their  efforts.    Understand,  please,  that  the  church  officials  work 

^  Rev.  H.  H.  Pitman. 


Io6  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

in  harmony  and  look  upon  the  interests  of  both  institutions  as 
the  interests  of  the  whole.  Following  is  a  list  of  the  activities 
and  where  they  are  carried  on: 

1.  At  the  School — ^Athletics,  lecture  courses,  literary  societies, 
short  course,  May  Festival,  Country  Club  meets  here  also. 

2.  At  the  Church — Preaching  services,  Fall  Festivals,  Sunday 
School,  motion  pictures. 

3.  At  both  Church  and  School — ^Dramatics,  entertainments, 
bazars,  socials,  parties,  and  special  meetings,  such  as  Christmas, 
Fourth  of  July,  Memorial  Day  celebrations  at  which  addresses 
are  delivered  by  noted  men  and  women.' 

He  furthermore  says : 

We  do  not  emphasize  the  institutional  feature  at  the  church 
for  these  are  taken  care  of  adequately  at  the  school.  We  do 
co-operate  in  every  way  and  use  the  channels  of  the  church  pub- 
licity to  form  sentiment  in  favor  of  the  work  at  the  school.  We 
aim  to  emphasize  the  distinctly  religious  at  the  church  and  the 
more  secular,  if  one  cares  to  make  that  distinction,  at  the  school. 
In  fact,  I  deliver  some  of  my  more  secular  addresses  in  the  school 
auditorium.  The  other  night  I  addressed  250  farmers  at  the 
school  auditorium.     Many  of  these  men  had  never  been  in  the 

church Six  of  the  teachers  have  definite  work  in  the 

church  activities  and  I  lead  the  chapel  services  on  Monday  and 
share  in  the  school  work  in  various  ways.^ 

A  Young  Men's  Club  was  recently  formed  in  connec- 
tion with  this  church.  Its  purpose  is  set  forth  as  follows : 
''To  further  all  good  causes  in  Rollo  Community." 
This  they  are  attempting  to  do  through  the  channels  of 
the  church  in  their  Sunday-evening  programs.  In  a 
bulletin  of  the  church  the  following  is  found  which  pre- 
sents the  activities  of  this  club : 

From  7  to  10  o'clock  Sunday  evenings  the  church  will  be  open 
and  comfortable  for  all  who  desire  to  come.  The  different  organi- 
zations of  the  community  will  serve  light  refreshments  to  all  who 

^  Rev.  H.  H.  Pitman,  letter  to  Irving  King,  November  8,  191 7. 


ACTIVITIES  OF  COMMUNITY  CHURCHES  107 

come.  Some  will  look  after  your  comfort  and  your  social  needs; 
the  young  women  of  the  church  will  care  for  babies  and  sleepy 
children  in  a  nursery  provided  while  fathers  and  mothers  enjoy 
themselves  through  the  social  and  program  hour.  After  an  hour 
of  fellowship  the  auditorium  will  be  thrown  open  for  the  evening 
program  which  will  be  a  wholesome,  democratic  and  inspirational 
character.  Through  the  service  and  guidance  of  the  National 
League  for  Wholesome  Motion  Pictures,  the  best  in  drama, 
tragedy,  scenic,  comedy,  patriotism,  history  and  religious  and 
moral  teaching  will  be  brought  to  the  people.  The  cost  of  secur- 
ing this  course  of  pictures  makes  it  necessary  to  charge  a  smaU 
admission  fee  which  will  not  be  objectionable  to  any  one  who 
appreciates  the  best  and  wishes  to  support  it.  The  program 
will  be  enhanced  greatly  by  the  local  contributions  from  our 
various  musical  organizations  and  readings,  with  now  and  then 
a  short  talk  by  some  member  of  the  community. 

Of  the  attitude  of  the  community  toward  the  church 
the  pastor  says:  "There  is  a  very  fine  attitude  toward 
the  church  here,  and  there  has  been  a  steady  movement 
toward  the  support  of  its  program."^ 

This  church,  with  its  activities,  is  typical  of  a  num- 
ber of  community  churches  located  at  township  centers 
and  is  a  good  example  of  how  such  a  church  seeks  to 
adapt  itself  to  the  needs  of  the  community  in  which  it 
is  located. 

The  activities  of  the  Congregational  Community 
Church  of  Winnetka,  Illinois,  are  illustrative  of  those 
carried  on  by  community  churches  located  in  suburban 
communities.  Winnetka  is  a  suburb  of  Chicago,  being 
about  thirty  miles  from  the  "Loop,''  and  has  a  popu- 
lation  of    approximately  3,000   people.''    The   present 

^  See  note,  p.  106. 

'^  The  population  is  quite  cosmopolitan.  There  are  a  number  of 
small  business  concerns  which  are  necessary  to  meet  the  local  needs. 
There  are  some  local  professional  men  and  quite  a  number  of  laborers. 
Then  there  are  the  wealthy  business  and  professional  men,  whose 
business  is  carried  on  in  the  ''Loof^"  in  Chicago,  and  their  families. 


loS  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

church  was  built  in  1905.  In  191 1  the  membership  was 
167,  and  526  in  1919.  In  addition  to  the  church  there 
is  a  splendidly  equipped  Community  House  erected 
some  nine  years  ago  at  a  cost  of  $25,000.  The  purpose 
of  this  building  is  set  forth  as  follows:  '^Community 
House  is  dedicated  to  this  community  as  a  center  for 
wholesome  recreation,  for  the  development  of  strong 
bodies  and  alert  minds,  for  social  opportunity,  for  the 
inspiration  of  moral  integrity  and  the  promotion  of  all 
that  makes  for  noble  character  and  Christian  Citizenship. '  '^ 

All  the  activities  except  the  preaching  services  are 
carried  on  in  the  Community  House.  Through  it  the 
foregoing  purposes  are  sought  to  be  attained  and  the 
church  seeks  to  minister  to  the  whole  community  in 
every  way  that  ministry  is  needed — to  the  children, 
youths,  mature  men  and  women,  and  old — to  everyone 
irrespective  of  creed  or  nationality.  There  are  seventeen 
denominations  represented  in  its  membership,  and  six- 
teen nationalities  are  included  in  its  ministry. 

There  are  a  great  many  activities  carried  on  at  the 
Community  House.  Each  one  is  under  the  careful 
supervision  of  a  trained  leader.  The  schedule  on  page 
1 10  presents  them  in  a  general  way. 

In  addition  there  are  a  number  of  special  clubs  and 
organizations  having  their  own  particular  activities,  such 
as  the  Preparedness  Club,  consisting  of  young  men 
between  sixteen  and  twenty- two;  the  Friendship  Circle, 
the  members  of  which  are  the  domestic  servants  in  the 
home;  the  Trier  Horticultural  Society,  the  Dramatic 
Club,  the  Boy  Scouts,  the  Camp  Fire  Girls,  the  Men's 
Brotherhood,  the  Women's  Missionary  Society,  Neigh- 

^  Community  House,  Winnetka,  Illinois,  igi2-jgij,  p.  3. 


no  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

SCHEDULE    FOR    COMMUNITY   HOUSE    GYMNASIUM 

Small  boys,  not  over  seven,  Monday  and  Thurs- 
day. . 3:4s-  4:1s 

Small  girls,  Monday  and  Friday 4:15-  5 :oo 

Older  girls,  Monday  and  Friday 5  :oo-  5 : 45 

Young  women,  Tuesday 7 :  30-  8 :  30 

Friendship  Circle  Girls,  Tuesday 8:30-  9:30 

Women,  Tuesday  and  Friday 10:00-11  :oo  a.m. 

Boys,  not  over  eleven,  Tuesday ' 4:45-  5  :oo 

Boys,  over  eleven,  Tuesday 5  :oo-  5 145 

Young  men,  Monday  and  Thursday 7 :  00-  8 :  30 

Men,  Monday  and  Thursday 8:30-10:00 

Social  dancing  for  children,  Wednesday: 

For  boys  and  girls  seven  to  ten  years 4:15-  5  •  00 

For  boys  and  girls  over  ten 5 :  00-  6 :  00 

Baseball,  Wednesday 7 :  30-10: 00 

Saturday,  2:30-4:00,  Boys'  Game  Period 
Saturday,  4:30-6:00,  Volley  Ball  for  Men 

borhood  Club,  Mothers'  Club,  Orchestra,  Red  Cross, 
etc.,  with  activities  such  as  are  usually  carried  on  by 
these  organizations.  A  visiting  nurse  for  the  community 
has  her  headquarters  in  the  building.  During  the  war 
special  war- work  activities  were  carried  on.  A  volunteer 
training  corps  was  formed  with  headquarters  at  the 
Community  House.  Within  a  week  after  the  United 
States  entered  the  war  a  War  Emergency  Unit  was 
formed,  and  so  well  was  it  organized  that  all  men  of 
military  age  in  the  community  could  be  reached  within 
one  hour. 

Motion  pictures  are  shown  every  Friday  evening. 
So  well  has  this  feature  of  the  work  been  carried  on  that 
no  other  pictures  are  shown  in  the  community.  Billiard 
rooms  are  open  to  the  members  of  the  Community  House. 
Special  Sunday  evening  services  are  held  in  the  gym- 
nasium at  8:00  P.M.     These  are  of  a  rather  popular 


112 


THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 


order,  consisting  of  singing,  reading,  addresses  on  popular 
subjects,  moving  pictures,  etc.  There  are  many  club- 
rooms  in  the  building  available  for  special  meetings  of 


-€)- 


fllLST     FLOOIL    thAH 


OLIVET  INSTITUTE.     FIRST  FLOOR  PLAN 


groups.    A  reception  room,  containing  the  best  maga- 
zines, is  open  all  day  and  each  evening. 

Such  are  some  of  the  many  activities  carried  on  by 
this  church.  It  considers  that  all  of  them  are  within 
its  province,  and  they  are  looked  upon  as  a  part  of  its 
program  of  rehgious  education. 


ACTIVITIES  OF  COMMUNITY  CHURCHES 


113 


One  other  community  church  and  its  activities  may 
well  be  considered  here — Olivet  Institute,  Chicago, 
Illinois.     It  is  typical  of  community  churches  which  are 


-i^ 


Bl.ACW'HAWK  iTH-tBT 

5ECON0     FLOOR-     PLAN 


OUVET      INSTITUTE 


OLIVET  INSTITUTE.    SECOND  FLOOR  PLAN 


located  in  a  densely  populated  section  of  a  large  city. 
This  is  the  only  English-speaking  Protestant  church  in 
a  ward  of  64,000  people.  There  are  25,000  people  within 
a  half-mile  radius  of  the  church.  The  community  is 
largely  composed  of  Sicilians,  Italians,  and  Hungarians. 
In  the  main,  they  are  common  laborers,  their  wages 


114 


THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 


ranging  from  $io  to  $15  per  week.  Not  only  the  men, 
but  many  of  the  women,  work  regularly.  The  institu- 
tion which  seeks  to  minister  to  this  great  number  of 
people  began  as  a  mission  in  1888.     It  was  chartered  as 


-^^ 


LACK    HAW 


J  T  *.  K  B 


THIID    FLOOk.    fLAN 


OUVJEI     IlfSTITUTB. 


OLIVET  INSTITUTE.    THIRD  FLOOR  PLAN 


Olivet  Institute  fourteen  years  ago.  So  rapidly  has  it 
grown  that  it  now  has  a  church  membership  of  over 
1,200,  with  a  corps  of  fifteen  full-time  paid  workers, 
fifteen  part-time  paid  workers,  and  thirty  volunteer 
workers.    Moreover,  it  has  under  ways  plans  for  a  new 


ACTIVITIES  OF  COMMUNITY  CHURCHES 


115 


OPPORTUNITIES  OFFERED  AT  OLIVET  INSTITUTE  TO 
BENEFIT  ONE'S  SELF  AND  TO  HELP  OTHERS 

STAFF  MEETINGS 


Name  of 

Place  of  Meeting 

Time  of  Meeting 

Organization 

Sun. 

Mon. 

Tues. 

Wed. 

Thur. 

Fri. 

Sat. 

Office  staff 

444  Blackhawk  St. 
444  Blackhawk  St. 
1500  Hudson  Ave. 

8-9 
8-9 
8-9 

8-9 
8-9 
8-6 

8-9 
8^ 
8-6 

8-9 
8-9 
8-6 

8-9 
8-9 
8-6 

8-12 

Promotion  staff 

Resident  staff 

8-12 
8-12 

EDUCATIONAL  DEPARTMENT 


Name  of 
Organization 

Place  of  Meeting 

Time  of  Meeting 

Sun. 

Mon. 

Tues. 

Wed. 

Thur. 

Fri. 

Sat. 

Athletic  and  Social 

Olivet  Boosters 

1444  Hudson  Ave. 
1444  Hudson  Ave. 

4S9  Blackhawk  St. 
1452  Hudson  Ave. 

(rear) 
1408  Larrabee  St. 

459  Blackhawk  St. 

7:00 

7:00 
7:00 
7:00 

Game  room 

7:00 

7:00 

7:00 

Girls'  Gym.  class 

Iroquois  Club 

7:30 
7:00 



4:00 

Manual  and  Mental 

Kindergarten 

Kindergarten 

Housekeeping 

Housekeeping 

Little  Neighbors .... 
Red  Birds 

665  Vedder  St. 
14s  2  Hudson  Ave. 

665  Vedder  St. 
1452  Hudson  Ave. 

66s  Vedder  St. 

665  Vedder  St. 
I4S2  Hudson  Ave. 
1452  Hudson  Ave. 

665  Vedder  St. 

14s  2  Hudson  Ave. 
665  Vedder  St. 
665  Vedder  St. 
66s  Vedder  St. 

459  Blackhawk  St. 

459  Blackhawk  St. 

459  Blackhawk  St. 

66s  Vedder  St. 
1428  Hudson  Ave. 
1452  Hudson  Ave. 
1452  Hudson  Ave. 

.  .. . 

9:00 
9:00 
3:30 
3:30 
3:00 
3:30 
3:30 
10:30 
(ist) 
3:30 

4:30 

9:00 
9:00 

9:00 
9:00 

9:00 
9:00 

9:00 
9:00 

Little  Neighbors .... 

Woman's  Auxiliary. 

Stories,     plays,    and 
games 

Italian  Choral  Club 

6:30 
7:30 

Ital.  Handcraft  Club 

Italian  Men's  Club .  . 

7:30 

(ist 

&3d) 

7:00 

Manual  training .  . .  . 

Foundry  classes 

Wood-burning  classes 
Sewing  classes 

7:00 
7:00 
7:00 

7:00 

7:00 
3:30 
3:30 
7:00 
7:30 

7:00 
7:00 
7:00 

7:00 

Camp  Fire  Girls  No.  2 
Open  Hearth  Club.. 

1 

ii6 


THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 
EDUCATIONAL  BEVARTMENT— Continued 


Name  OF 
Organization 

Place  of  Meeting 

Time  of  Meeting 

Sun. 

Mon. 

Tues. 

Wed. 

Thur. 

Fri. 

Sat. 

Manual  and  Mental — Continued 

Printing 

SIO  Blackhawk  St. 
1452  Hudson  Ave. 
66s  Vedder  St. 

1452  Hudson  Ave. 
I4S2  Hudson  Ave. 

66s  Vedder  St. 

459  Blackhawk  St. 
1452  Hudson  Ave. 

66s  Vedder  St. 
1452  Hudson  Ave. 

66s  Vedder  St. 

1440  Sedgwick  St. 
1452  Hudson  Ave. 

7:00 

7:00 

7:00 

Practical  cooking .... 

10:00 
3:30 
and 
7:00 
3:30 

10:30 
3:30 

Boys'  Club 

Sewing  classes 

WUling  Workers.... 

Star  Club 

Drawing  classes 

7:00 



Girls'  Knitting  Club . 
Handicraft  Club .... 

7:00 
7:00 

Woman's  Club 

2:30 
(3d)° 

Mothers'  Club 

Entertainments 

7:30 

OlivetlnstituteMen's 
Club 

800 

Instrumental  and  Vocal 

Quartette 

1500  Cleveland  Ave. 
1500  Cleveland  Ave. 
1440  Sedgwick  St. 
1440  Sedgwick  St. 
1452  Hudson  (rear) 
1452  Hudson  (rear) 

9:30 
10:05 
12:00 

2:30 

Y.M.P.  Choir 

Y.M.P.  Choir 

Graded  School  Orch. 

Bugle  Corps 

Fife  and  Drum  Corps 

12^ 
0  to  8 

12-9 

:30,3 

2-8 

7:4s 

12-9 
30  to 

12-9 
7:00  : 

^i^l 

9-6 
ily 

Daily  practice  hours . 
Violin  lessons 

1500  Cleveland  Ave. 
1500  Cleveland  Ave. 

7--- 

Adult  band 

1440  Sedgwick  St. 
1440  Sedgwick  St. 
1452  Hudson  Ave. 

Senior  chorus 

7:30 
4:30 

Junior  chorus 

RELIEF  DEPARTMENT 


Name  of 
Organization 

Place  of  Meeting 

Td£e  of  Meeting 

Sun. 

Mon. 

Tues. 

Wed. 

Thur. 

Fri. 

Sat. 

Advice  and  Aid  Section 

SIO  Blackhawk  St. 
667  Vedder  St. 

9 
9 

9 
9 

9 
9 

9 
9 

9 
9 

9 
9 

Employment 

ACTIVITIES  OF  COMMUNITY  CHURCHES 

RELIEF  BEFARTMENT— Continued 


117 


Name  OF 
Organization 

Place  of  Meeting 

Time  of  Meeting 

Sun. 

Mon. 

Tues. 

Wed.  Thur. 

Fri. 

Sat. 

Medical  Section  Olivet  Dispensary 

Confinement  cases 

1500  Cleveland  Ave. 
1500  Cleveland  Ave. 
1500  Cleveland  Ave. 

1500  Cleveland  Ave. 
1500  Cleveland  Ave. 

1500  Cleveland  Ave. 
1500  Cleveland  Ave. 
1500  Cleveland  Ave. 

4-5 

Children's  diseases 

11-12 

I^edical  cases 

8-9 

8-9 

Eye,  ear,  and  throat 

10- 
10:30 
3:30- 
4:30 

Surgical  cases 

Women  diseases 

11-12 

II— 12 

Nurse.  ... 

1 1- 1 2  A.M.  dailv  and  all  clinic  hou 

rs 

Outing  Section 

Camp  privileges,  Olivet  Camp,  Williams  Bay,  Wisconsin,  every  day 

June  IX  to  September  4 

RELIGIOUS  DEPARTMENT 


Name  of 

Place  of  Meeting 

Time  of  Meeting 

Organization 

Sun. 

Mon. 

Tues. 

Wed. 

Thur. 

Fri. 

Sat. 

Catechism  School . 

667  Vedder  St. 
1440  Sedgwick  St. 
1440  Sedgwick  St. 
1440  Sedgwick  St. 

667  Vedder  St. 

667  Vedder  St. 
1440  Sedgwick  St. 
1440  Sedgwick  St. 

665  Vedder  St. 

1440  Sedgwick  St. 
1452  Hudson  Ave. 
1452  Hudson  Ave. 
667  Vedder  St. 
1440  Sedgwick  St. 

444  Blackhawk  St. 

1500  Hudson  Ave. 

444  Blackhawk  St. 
444  Blackhawk  St. 

1440  Sedgwick  St. 

Homes 

729  Rees  St. 

9:30 

9:30 

10:00 

10:45 

10:45 

2:45 

2:45 

6:30 

6:30 

6:30 
6:30 
6:30 
7:30 
7:30 

Bible  School     .... 

Session  Meeting .... 

Bible  School 

Graded  Lesson  School 

Int.  S.E.S     . . . 

Int.  S.E.S 

Young  People's 

Adult  S.E.S 

Men's  Bible  Class    . 

Italian  Service 

American  Service .  .  . 

Heads  of  Dept.  Coun- 
cil  

5:00 

9:00 
(4th) 
7:45 
7:45 

7:4s 
(2d) 
8:00 
(ist) 

EmployedStaffCoun- 

Session  Meeting .... 

Deacons    and    Dea- 
conesses. .    . 

Y.L.  Missionary  Soc. 

Bethany 

8:00 

ii8 


THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

RELIGIOUS  BEFARTMENT— Continued 


Name  of 

Place  or  Meeting 

Time  of  Meeting 

Organization 

Sun. 

Mon. 

Tues. 

Wed. 

Thur. 

Fri. 

Sat. 

Bethesda 

1229  Burling  St. 

724  Weed  St. 

6s9  Blackhawk  St. 

327  Wisconsin  St. 
1502  Hudson  Ave. 

66s  Vedder  St. 
1452  Hudson  Ave. 

66s  Vedder  St. 

1452  Hudson  Ave. 

1452  Hudson  Ave. 

66s  Vedder  St. 

66s  Vedder  St. 
1444  Hudson  Ave. 
1440  Sedgwick  St. 

66s  Vedder  St. 

I  SOD  Cleveland  Ave. 

1452  Hudson  Ave. 
1444  Hudson  Ave. 
1444  Hudson  Ave. 
1408  Larrabee  St. 

1440  Sedgwick  St. 
1440  Sedgwick  St. 
1440  Sedgwick  St. 
1452  Hudson  Ave. 

66s  Vedder  St. 
Homes 

433  Hein  PI. 
1029  CambridgeAve. 
1029  CambridgeAve. 
1038  Crosby  St. 

8:00 
8:00 
8:00 
8:00 
8:00 

Esther 

German-Hungarian. . 

Mt.  Olivet 

Kindergarten  Circle . 

2:00 
2:00 

2:00 

2:30 
(ist) 
2:30 

(2d& 

4th) 

3:30 

3:30 

7:30 

7:30 

7:30 

7:30 

7:30 
7:30 
7:30 
7:30 

7:30 
7:30 
8:00 
8:iS 
8:is 

Kindergarten  Circle. 

German-Hungarian 
Aid.  Soc 

Woman's  Missionary 
Soc 

Ladies' Aid  Society.. 

r.  Boys'  Circle 

"r.  Girls'  Circle 

,T.  Girls'  Circle 

Italian  Circle 

German-Hungarian 
Circle 

Laurel  Soc.  (Int. 
Girls) 

Int.  Boys'  Circle 

Young  Men's  Circle.. 

Young  Men's  Circle. . 

Church  Visitors'.... 

Circle 

Children's  Church... 
Children's  Church... 
Friendly  Bible  Class . 
Swanson  Shop  Meet . 

8:is 
8:is 

8:15 
8:is 

8:is 
8:15 

8:iS 
8:  IS 
2:00 



12:00 

Johnson  Shop  Meet. . 
Anderson  Shop  Meet. 
Wilder  Shop  Meet... 

12:00 

12:00 

12:00 

plant  in  which  all  its  activities  may  be  carried  on,  v^hich 
will  cost  at  least  $600,000.  The  cuts,  on  pages  1 1 1- 14,  will 
indicate  something  of  the  completeness  of  its  equipment. 
Although  Olivet  Institute  is  a  denominational  organiza- 
tion, being  Presbyterian,  it  seeks  to  minister  to  all  in 
the  community  irrespective  of  denomination.  Its  staff 
is  broadly  interdenominational,  including  Methodist, 
Baptist,  Lutheran,!  Christian,  and  at  one  time  a 
CathoUc. 


ACTIVITIES  OF  COMMUNITY  CHURCHES  119 

A  fairly  good  conception  of  the  specific  and  varied 
activities  of  the  church  may  be  gained  from  schedules 
shown  on  pages  1 15-18.  The  cuts  and  diagrams  of  the 
building  and  floor  spaces  will  suggest  how  well  the  build- 
ing is  arranged  to  carry  them  on.  They  will  indicate 
in  what  ways  this  institution  seeks  to  minister  to  all 
the  needs  of  the  people  in  this  kind  of  city  community. 
This  ministry  it  maintains  at  an  annual  net  expense  of 
$40,000. 

The  foregoing  has  set  forth  in  a  rather  brief  way  both 
the  general  and  the  specific  activities  of  the  community 
churches.  Typical  examples  illustrative  of  the  latter 
have  been  cited  of  churches  located  in  rural  communities, 
small  towns,  suburbs  of  large  cities,  and  of  a  densely 
populated  foreign  section  of  a  large  city.  They  show 
how  varied  such  activities  are,  and  just  how  each  type 
has  adapted  its  activities  to  meet  the  particular  needs 
of  the  community  in  which  it  was  located.  The  signifi- 
cance of  these  activities  to  denominational  unity  is 
pointed  out  in  the  following  chapters. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH  AND  DENOMINA- 
TIONAL UNITY  ' 

It  has  been  frequently  pointed  out  that  there  is  a 
great  deal  of  opinion  in  favor  of  denominational  unity/ 
It  is  not  altogether  new.  "In  fact,  we  have  had  it  for 
many  years.  "^  It  has  gradually  increased  and  is  becom- 
ing more  general  and  potential.  Some  of  the  many 
evidences  have  already  been  mentioned.  A  quite  recent 
one  was  the  conference  held  in  Philadelphia  in  December, 
1918,  in  behalf  of  organic  union  of  the  Protestant  denom- 
inations in  this  country  It  was  called  by  the  Presby- 
terian church  and  representatives  of  the  various  evangel- 
ical Protestant  denominations  were  invited.  Seventeen 
responded.  The  following  was  said  of  this  conference, 
which  is  to  the  point: 

It  was  unanimously  agreed  among  us  that  the  great  world 
crisis  through  which  we  have  passed  has  laid  upon  the  Christian 
Church  new  obligations  which  we  certainly  ought  not  to  disregard. 

The  common  ideals  and  dangers  which  have  come  to  the  front 
in  the  great  war  have  developed  many  forces  which  we  must  be 
quick  to  conserve.  Moreover  it  was  thought  that  the  unanimity 
with  which  our  American  people,  in  the  face  of  their  many  differ- 
ent traditions  of  creed  and  practice,  were  able  to  fuse  themselves 
into  one  body  for  the  common  weal  of  the  nation  and  the  world 
may  be  regarded  as  a  prophecy  full  of  hope  of  what  the  church 
might  accomplish  by  coming  into  a  like  unity  in  the  interest  of 
that  great  Kingdom  so  dear  to  the  hearts  of  our  Master  and  his 
loyal  disciples. 

^  See  chaps,  i  and  ii. 

'  Robert  E.  Park,  letter  of  January  2,  1919. 


THE  CHURCH  AND  DENOMINATIONAL  UNITY      12 1 

This  Philadelphia  Conference,  representing  seventeen  churches 
(denominations)  emphatically  declared  that  it  was  plainly  in 
accordance  with  the  divine  purpose,  and  in  harmony  with  the  will 
of  Christ,  that  His  church  should  be  one  visible  body,  in  order 
to  bear  witness  to  Him  among  men.^ 

The  most  recent  evidence  of  this  point  was  the  Inter - 
Church  World  Movement  of  North  America,  ''present- 
ing an  adequate  world  program  for  the  Christian  Church 
in  the  new  era/'  It  probably  grew  out  of  the  confer- 
ence just  mentioned.  It  included  all  evangeKcal  Protes- 
tant denominations  and  had  a  program  that  called  for 
the  raising  of  $1,000,000,000  to  be  spent  at  home  and 
abroad  for  human  betterment  in  the  next  five  years. 
It  has  been  hailed  by  many  as  the  most  significant 
Protestant  movement  since  the  Reformation.  Its  chief 
significance  lay  in  the  fact  that  it  was  a  movement  for 
denominational  unity  on  the  basis  of  the  accomplish- 
ment of  definite  ends.  Creed  had  no  place  in  it.^  The 
fact  that  there  is  widespread  opinion  favoring  denomina- 
tional unity  is  important.  It  is  important  because 
favorable  opinion  toward  any  social  change  makes  for 
the  possibility  of  bringing  it  about. 

The  thing  of  far  greater  importance  that  was  revealed 
by  this  study,  however,  is  that  we  actually  have  denomi- 
national unity.  This  latter  fact  is  of  great  significance 
because  a  thrag  that  actually  exists  has  a  tendency  to 
create  opiaion  in  its  favor.  This  is  especially  true  if 
it  functions  so  as  to  meet  a  real  need.  This  the  com- 
munity church  does.    Herein,  then,  lies  a  thing  of  vital 

^  Ethelbert  Talbot,  bishop  of  Diocese  of  Bethlehem,  Pa.,  Ladies* 
Home  Journal  (March,  1919),  p.  39. 

*The  movement  came  to  an  end  in  1921. 


122  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

significance  respecting  it.  It  actually  practices  denomi- 
national unity.  By  doing  this,  it  makes  for  opinion 
favoring  such  practice,  which  in  turn  fosters  that 
practice. 

This  study  discovered  abundant  evidence  that 
denominational  unity  is  to  be  found  in  and  that  it  is 
practiced  by  the  community  churches.  Some  illustra- 
tions have  already  been  given.  This  point  will  be 
further  established  by  a  few  more  concrete  examples. 

The  community  church  at  Quaker  Hill,  New  York, 
may  be  cited  as  an  illustration.  The  condition  in  that 
church  has  been  set  forth  as  follows : 

At  Quaker  Hill,  N.Y.,  a  country  church  was  organized  which 
united  in  itself  the  whole  religious  ministry  to  a  population  of  great 
variety.  So  different  were  the  religious  preferences  of  the  com- 
munity that  no  denomination  could  serve  them,  so  that  an  inde- 
pendent church,  sanctioned  at  its  organization  by  the  neighbor- 
hood congregations  which  represented  five  denominations,  was 
formed.  Into  its  membership  this  independent  church  received 
the  adherents  of  eleven  different  denominations.  The  presence 
of  so  many  sectarian  groups  in  the  community  indicates  a  situation 
not  altogether  unique,  but  this  church  united  in  itself  the  whole 
community,  and  has  for  fifteen  years,  without  denominational 
support,  maintained  that  leadership,  and  served  religiously  as  the 
center  of  worship  and  religious  ministry  for  a  territory  eight  miles 
long  and  two  miles  wide.  This  church  is  cited  here  as  an  illustra- 
tion of  the  religious  unity  which  is  absolutely  essential  in  the 
coimtry  community.^ 

Here  we  have  actual  denominational  unity  which  has 
extended  over  a  period  of  fifteen  years,  a  church  in 
one  community  containing  eleven  denominations  in  its 
membership,  and  all  united  into  one  church. 

^  Warren  H.  Wilson,  American  Journal  of  Sociology,  XVI,  685-86. 


THE  CHURCH  AND  DENOMINATIONAL  UNITY       123 

Another  illustration  of  the  actual  practice  of  denom- 
inational unity  is  the  Congregational  church  in  Clare- 
mont,  California.  Claremont  is  a  college  town.  This 
church  has  been  the  only  one  in  that  community  for 
over  ten  years.  It  now  contains  representatives  of 
twenty-one  different  denominations  in  its  membership. 
The  following  presents  the  attitude  toward  denomina- 
tionalism  of  this  church: 

In  1905  the  demands  of  the  Community  became  so  great 
that  it  seemed  expedient  to  have  a  church  building  that  might 

be  known  as  the  center  of  the  religious  life  of  the  town 

It  was  erected  and  occupied  in  1906 So  completely  did 

this  church  enter  into  the  life  of  the  town  and  college  from  the 
very  beginning  that  no  one  has  ever  thought  seriously  of  building 
another  church.  Orange  growers,  professors,  merchants,  students, 
tourists  of  all  Christian  creeds,  all  worship  in  perfect  harmony  and 
friendship  beneath  one  dome.  Man  made  theology  and  specula- 
tions are  not  burning  questions  in  the  Claremont  Church — -Chris- 
tianity is.  Men  and  women  must  love  God — they  must  attempt 
to  carry  into  practice  in  their  own  lives  the  principles  of  Christ- 
like service  and  devotion  which  Jesus  taught.  There  are  no 
ecclesiastical  wrangles.  Everywhere  there  is  a  spirit  of  fraternity 
and  good  fellowship  and  sympathy.  Life  is  as  large  and  free  and 
open  as  in  the  country.  All  are  welcome  who  love  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  desire  to  serve  Him  in  sincerity  and  in  truth.  Sunday 
after  Sunday  all  through  the  year,  men  of  mature  thought,  young 
people  who  are  seeking  truth,  crowd  the  doors  of  the  temple. 
Twenty-one  denominations  are  represented  in  this  church,  besides 

others  attend  its  services  and  enter  into  its  worship The 

church  seeks  to  minister  to  the  whole  man  and  the  whole 
woman. 

The  Claremont  church  cares  little  for  petty  things.  It 
realized  that  the  town  in  which  it  is,  by  the  grace  of  God,  so 
conspicuous  a  factor,  needs  a  great  living,  breathing,  religious 
center.  It  knows  that  one  organization,  if  properly  put  together, 
can  minister  helpfully  to  every  inhabitant  of  the  district.     Those 


124  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

who  love  the  church  best  recognize  there  is  room  for  improve- 
ment and  those  who  have  worked  in  its  activities  see  where  every- 
thing they  have  done  might  be  strengthened.  But,  they  beheve 
the  catholicity  of  spirit  which  is  the  watchword  of  the  college 
and  village  has  found  its  fullest  expression  in  the  church  which 
has  so  wonderfully  bound  together  the  interests  of  the  town  and 
gown.^ 

A  third  illustration  of  the  practice  of  denomina- 
tional unity  is  found  in  the  community  church  situated 
on  the  Adirondack  lakes.  It  is  in  a  small  summer  resort, 
and  services  are  held  only  from  July  until  September. 
This  chapel  is  built  of  logs  and  is  on  ground  owned  by 
an  inn.  The  official  body  is  composed  of  the  Church 
Committee,  which  is  made  up  of  men  from  all  branches 
of  the  Christian  family.  The  little  church  is  recognized 
as  the  home  of  all  Christians,  each  respecting  all  others 
who  seek  to  have  a  right  faith  (as  it  is  given  them  to 
believe)  and  to  lead  a  right  life.  Ministers  as  well  as 
lay  members  of  the  various  denominations  commune 
together  in  peaceful  harmony.  Young  men  have  said 
that  while  they  do  not  go  to  any  church  at  home,  they 
do  not  want  to  miss  any  of  the  simple  and  sincere  services 
that  are  held  at  this  church. 

Here,  then,  we  have  illustrated  a  form  of  practical  Christian 
unity,  or  of  unity  of  Christian  worship  and  effort  that  appears 
to  be  worthy  of  careful  thought  on  the  part  of  those  who  are  seek- 
ing a  similar  result  in  the  wider  field  that  the  world  offers. 

The  simple  and  sincere  union  services  that  are  in  practical 
use  have  been  found  to  make  church-going  attractive;  to  bring 
all  Christians  closely  together  in  harmony;  to  make  it  for  all  of 
them  to  worship  and  commune  together  as  one  family;  and  last 
but  not  least,  to  bring  voluntary  contributions  into  the  church 
treasury  making  its  care  a  pleasure  and  not  a  burden.^ 

'Philip  Smead  Bird,  Missionary  Review  (May,  1918),  pp.  365-67. 
'  Frank  J.  Firth,  Outlook,  XC,  821-23. 


THE  CHURCH  AND  DENOMINATIONAL  UNITY      125 

Near  Beach,  Iowa,  a  community  church  was  recently 
formed  which  is  illustrative  of  the  practice  under  con- 
sideration as  is  shown  in  the  following  statement:  "The 
most  notable  consideration,  however,  is  the  fact  that 
the  building  was  erected  and  paid  for  as  a  community 
enterprise,  with  no  thought  of  denominational  control, 
the  uppermost  idea  being  that  it  might  serve  the  interests 
of  all.  "^ 

There  were  fourteen  denominations  (all  that  were 
in  the  community)  represented  in  the  church  which  was 
formed  in  19 10  at  Collegeport,  Texas.  The  preamble 
to  its  Articles  of  Association  has  elsewhere  been  given 
and  reveals  the  underlying  motive  for  forming  a  church 
in  which  denominational  unity  should  exist. ^  There  are 
twenty  denominations  represented  in  the  community 
church  of  Sierra,  California.^  There  are  seventeen 
denominations  represented  in  the  one  at  Winnetka, 
Illinois. 

The  best  illustration  of  denominational  unity  that 
this  study  discovered  from  the  standpoint  of  the  number 
of  denominations  and  nationalities  represented  in  its 
membership  as  well  as  the  number  of  different  denomi- 
nations represented  on  the  staff  of  workers,  was  Olivet 
Institute,  Chicago,  Illinois.  The  sixteen  nationalities 
and  seventeen  denominations  represented  in  its  member- 
ship illustrate  the  fact  that  denominational  unity  is  not 
only  possible,  but  that  it  is  actually  found  among  people 
of  widely  divergent  ideas  and  customs.'*  It  furthermore 
illustrates  the  fact  that  it  is  possible  and  actually  found 

^  W.  B.  Zimmerman,  Christian  Century,  July  13,  1915. 
2  See  p.  81.  3  Outlook,  LXXXVII,  895. 

4  See  table  on  p.  127. 


126  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

among  denominations  of  as  wide  a  divergency  in  dogma 
and  creed  as  Catholics  and  Methodists,  and  in  poUty  as 
EpiscopaHans  and  Congregationalists. 

This  church  is  affihated  with  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  U.S.A.,  but  "it  has  on  its  staff  of  workers  rep- 
resentatives from  all  denominations — Baptists,  Meth- 
odists, Lutherans,  Disciples,  etc.  We  have  even  had 
Catholics  and  Jews  on  our  staff. "^  It  well  illustrates  the 
fact  that  denominational  unity  actually  exists  in  the 
community  church. 

Many  more  illustrations  of  this  kind  could  be 
given.  This  study  revealed  the  fact  that  actual  denom- 
inational unity  existed  in  and  is  being  practiced  by  the 
community  churches,  and  that  church  catholicity  is  no 
longer  a  mere  Utopian  dream,  but  actually  exists  in 
many  instances.  Such  churches  seem  to  fulfil  the 
following  prophecy  of  a  coming  church  made  a  de- 
cade ago: 

The  denominational  walls  are  crumbling,  the  denominational 
spirit  is  dying;  Christians  of  all  denominations  meet  outside  of 
the  church  in  common  acts  of  service.  The  day  is  nearer  than 
we  think  when  they  will  be  able  to  meet  for  work  and  worship 
in  the  same  church — -a  church  as  Jewish  as  the  ten  commandments 
and  as  Christian  as  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount;  as  lithurgical  as 
Solomon's  prayer  in  the  Temple  and  as  non-lithurgical  as  Christ's 
prayer  at  the  Last  Supper,  as  Calvanistic  as  the  first  chapter  of 
Genesis  and  as  Armenian  as  the  last  chapter  of  Revelations;  a 
church  so  catholic  that  all  its  members  can  come  together  under 
the  same  roof  to  sing  in  Chorus  Glory  to  God  in  the  Highest,  and 
can  go  out  into  the  world  and  work  together  to  promote  peace  on 
earth  and  good  will  among  men.^ 

^  Norman  B.  Ban,  superintendent  and  minister. 
Outlook,  UXXXVU,Sgs. 


THE  CHURCH  AND  DENOMINATIONAL  UNITY       127 


In  Olivet  Institute,   1 888-1913,  the  following  table  is 
found : 

PERSONS  RECEIVED  INTO  THE  MEMBERSHIP  OF 
THE  CHURCH 


Confession 
Letter .... 


951 

84 


Total 1,035 


Nationalities  of 
Members 


No. 


German 587 

Swedish 148 

Irish 26 

Italian  (Sicilian) 24 

Jewish 7 

Bohemian 11 

French 4 

Scotch 23 

English 158 

Danish 

Norwegian 

Welsh 

Dutch 

Polish 

Canadian 

Russian 


7 
15 
16 

2 

5 
I 
I 


Denominations  of 
Members 


No. 


Total 1,035 


Catholics 154 

Baptists 19 

Methodists 42 

Jewish 3 

Congregationalists 33 

Presbyterians 82 

Swedish  Lutherans.  ...  137 

German  Lutherans ....  462 

Christian  Church 6 

Salvation  Army 2 

Episcopal 55 

Evangelical  Lutherans. .  2  2 

Swedish  Missions 12 

Reformed i 

Waldensian 2 

French  Lutheran i 

Norwegian  Lutheran ...  2 

Total 1,035 


CHAPTER  VIII 

HOW  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH  BRINGS  ABOUT 
DENOMINATIONAL  UNITY 

From  the  foregoing  it  will  be  seen  that  the  com- 
munity church,  although  a  result  of  adaptation  to  the 
needs  of  the  social  situation,  is  in  reality  also  a  move- 
ment toward  denominational  unity.  It  has  been  pointed 
out  that  the  community  churches  seek  to  unite  all  the 
denominations  in  the  community  into  one  organic  body, 
and  that  this  is  a  fundamental  characteristic  of  such 
churches.  Denominational  unity  is  not  a  mere  theory 
with  them.  They  actually  practice  it.  It  is  significant 
because  it  removes  denominational  unity  from  the  realm 
of  the  theoretical  and  speculative  and  places  it  in  that 
of  the  actual.  Example  is  always  more  potential  than 
precept.  An  actual  demonstration  of  a  thing  is  more 
convincing  than  a  theory  about  it.  The  community- 
church  movement,  therefore,  by  its  actual  demonstra- 
tion of  the  possibility  of  denominational  unity,  i.e., 
the  actual  practice  of  it  by  the  community  churches, 
has  in  it  large  potentiality  for  advancing  the  move- 
ment and  gives  hope  that  it  may  actually  be  con- 
summated. 

It  has  been  mentioned  before  that  there  is  widespread 
if  not  universal  desire  for  unity  on  behalf  of  the  various 
denominations.  This  is  especially  true  of  the  evangelical 
Protestant  denominations.  It  seems  to  be  generally 
agreed  among  them  that  unity  must  be  brought  about 
if  the  church  is  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  new  social 

128 


HOW  THE  CHURCH  BRINGS  ABOUT  UNITY  129 

situation  confronting  it,  if  it  is  to  function  efficiently.^ 
There  is,  however,  at  the  present  no  agreement  among 
them  as  to  how  this  unity  may  be  brought  about,  no 
agreement  as  to  a  basis  that  would  make  it  possible. 

It  has  been  frequently  pointed  out  in  this  study  that 
the  community  churches  are  a  new  type  of  church  in 
which  the  various  denominations  of  the  community 
are  actually  united  into  one  organic  body.  The  ques- 
tions naturally  arise:  How  do  they  bring  about  this 
unity  ?  What  is  the  basis  of  it  ?  Is  there  to  be  found 
in  this  newly  evolving  type  of  church  a  method  of 
approach  to  and  a  basis  or  norm  for  reaching  general 
denominational  unity  ? 

The  foregoing  were  some  of  the  questions  considered 
in  this  study.  The  answers  following  are  those  that  it 
revealed.  They  are  based  upon  the  actual  facts  dis- 
closed by  the  survey,  made  of  such  churches.  It  may  be 
said  at  the  outset  that  there  is  no  one  particular  factor 
by  which  the  community  churches  bring  about  the 
denominational  unity  that  is  found  in  them.  On  the 
other  hand,  many  factors  enter  into  it,  most  of  which 
have  been  mentioned.  The  truth  is  that  different  means 
and  different  methods  are  used  by  different  churches. 
There  is  no  one  rule  or  principle  or  method  that  applies 
to  all  situations  and  conditions.  The  methods,  means, 
and  bases  must  be  adapted  to  the  particular  situation 
and  community.  This  last  statement  suggests  one  of 
the  fundamental  factors  as  to  how  the  community 
churches  can  and  do  bring  about  denominational  unity. 
They  adapt  themselves  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  par- 
ticular community  in  which  they  are  located.     This  is  the 

'  Bishop  Ethelbert  Talbot,  Ladies^  Home  Journal  {March,  1919),  p.  39. 


ISO  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

significance  of  the  chapter  on  ''Types  of  Community 
Churches/'  In  it  was  shown  that  by  adapting  them- 
selves so  as  to  really  meet  the  needs  of  the  particular 
community  they  united  the  various  denominations  of 
the  community. 

This  suggests  another  factor  or  element  by  which 
these  churches  bring  about  the  denominational  unity 
that  is  found  in  them,  viz.,  service  to  the  whole  com- 
mimity.  Such  churches  have  as  one  of  their  funda- 
mental principles  such  a  service.  It  is  a  service  to  the 
whole  community  and  to  the  whole  of  its  life.  Such 
churches  seek  to  be  central  in  a  service  affecting  the 
whole  life  of  the  community.  This  would  in  turn 
suggest  another  factor,  viz.,  that  they  seek  to  serve  all 
the  people  in  the  community.  They  do  not  seek  to 
serve  merely  those  who  belong  to  a  particular  denom- 
ination, but  all  of  any  and  every  denomination  irrespec- 
tive of  creed  or  poUty. 

Two  other  factors  suggested  above  that  make  for  the 
denominational  unity  of  these  churches  are  the  eHmina- 
tion  of  a  creedal  or  poHty  test  for  membership.  Such 
churches  do  not  require  a  creedal  test  for  membership, 
and  they  admit  into  it  people  of  all  creeds  or  of  no 
creeds  whatever.  Thus  they  eliminate  two  of  the 
elements  which  have  been  the  most  potential  in  produ- 
cing division  and  the  greatest  barriers  to  unity.  What 
has  been  said  of  church  federations  may  be  said  with 
all  truth  of  the  community  churches,  viz.,  ''Church 
federations  are  not  creed  makers.  Their  virtue  lies  in 
comprehensiveness  rather  than  exclusiveness.  They 
deal  not  with  the  philosophy  of  religion,  but  with  its 
practice;    they  are  designed  to   exemplify  a  harmony 


HOW  THE  CHURCH  BRINGS  ABOUT  UNITY  131 

and  unity  of  service  in  the  midst  of  a  variety  of  faiths, 
form  and  expressions."^ 

An  examination  of  their  articles  of  agreement,  con- 
stitutions, and  by-laws  and  their  actual  practices 
abundantly  estabhshes  the  foregoing  point.  Evidence 
has  elsewhere  been  given  to  that  effect.  Moreover,  the 
foregoing  holds  respecting  the  matter  of  poUty.  They 
receive  into  their  membership  persons  from  other 
churches  irrespective  of  the  poHty  practiced  by 
them. 

Another  factor  that  enters  into  the  matter  of  how 
the  community  churches  bring  about  denominational 
unity  is  the  shifting  of  emphasis  from  the  '^  other 
worldly"  to  the  ^Hhis  worldly"  point  of  view.  As  has 
already  been  pointed  out,  these  churches  place  the 
emphasis  on  saving  the  life  that  now  is,  the  life  of  the 
present,  the  one  of  this  world,  estimating  that  this  is 
the  surest  way  to  save  the  life  for  the  future,  for  the 
"other  world."  It  lays  emphasis  upon  the  fact  that 
"the  soul  is,  like  other  things,  bound  up  with  the  inter- 
ests of  this  world,"''  and  that  the  soul's  interests  may 
best  be  advanced  by  advancing  these  other  interests 
of  the  world.  In  other  words,  they  have  shifted  the 
emphasis  from  the  point  of  view  of  saving  people  for  the 
other  world  so  that  they  may  attain  "more  abundant 
life"  in  it,  to  that  of  saving  this  world  so  that  they  may 
attain  the  "more  abundant  life"  in  it.  This  is  part  of 
the  significance  of  the  chapter  on  the  "Activities  of 
Community  Churches."    It  was  seen  in  that  chapter 

^  Alfred  "Williams  Anthony,  pamphlet,  Suggestions  for  State  and 
Local  Federation,  pp.  9-10. 

2  Robert  E.  Park,  letter,  January  2,  1919. 


132  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

that  these  churches  shifted  the  emphasis  from  individual 
to  social  salvation. 

Another  significance  of  that  chapter  concerning  the 
subject  under  immediate  consideration  is  that  the  com- 
munity churches,  by  placing  their  main  emphasis  on 
the  common  interests  of  the  community,  by  the  promo- 
tion of  the  general  welfare  of  the  community,  by  the 
attempt  to  meet  the  common  needs  of  all  the  people 
of  the  community  so  that  they  may  have  a  ''more  abun- 
dant life,"  have  brought  about  denominational  unity  in 
the  community.  The  various  denominations,  recog- 
nizing the  need  of  some  service  for  the  welfare  of  the 
community,  and  also  recognizing  that  separately  they 
could  not  render  it,  united  themselves  into  one  body  in 
order  to  accompHsh  the  desired  end.  They  have  made 
objective  accomplishment  and  the  general  welfare  their 
first  aim.  They  lose  their  own  particular  denominational 
lives  and  discover  that  they  have  a  new  undenomina- 
tional life — a  life  of  strength  in  unity.  It  is  upon  this 
basis  of  objective  accomplishment  that  they  have 
brought  about  the  unity  found  in  them. 

Many  illustrations  of  this  point  came  under  observa- 
tion. One  may  be  mentioned  here  that  is  typical  of 
many — the  Hurricane  Community  Church  near  Frank- 
line,  Indiana.  The  pastor  of  this  church  has  said  the 
following  concerning  it  which  is  to  the  point: 

I  could  give  the  basis  for  all  growth  if  I  should  tell  the  whole 
story.  I  could  state  a  wonderful  law  underlying  all  human 
progress.  The  Baptists  would  join  the  Presbyterians,  we  might 
say,  but  they  could  not  give  up  their  traditions  and  practices. 
Likewise,  the  Presbyterians  could  have  easily  linked  themselves 
to  the  Methodist  Protestants,  but  neither  felt  able  to  surrender 
their  identity  for  that  of  the  other.     Finally,  all  three  allowed 


HOW  THE  CHURCH  BRINGS  ABOUT  UNITY  133 

another  to  enter — it  happened  to  be  the  Congregational  Church — 
and  they  all  sacrificed  for  the  common  good.  They  gave  up  their 
distinctive  feature  for  the  broader  life  of  this  agricultural  neighbor- 
hood. They  merged  their  interests,  pooled  their  energies  and 
devotions.^ 

The  unity  of  the  denominations  in  this  church,  then, 
was  upon  the  basis  of  the  common  and  general  social 
welfare.  It  is  typical  of  others.  The  following  quota- 
tion is  to  the  point  and  might  be  said  of  it  and  them : 

Not  content  with  the  good  that  has  been  done,  the  Christian 
workers  are  seeking  most  earnestly  how  to  do  their  best.  It  is 
most  encouraging  to  notice  the  churches  changing  from  being 
rival  ecclesiastical  bodies  to  co-operating  community  agencies. 
.  .  .  .  Christians  have  found  that  they  can  work  together;  that 
they  are  in  agreement  in  the  teachings  and  practices  that  are  most 

fundamental In  the  attack  upon  the  common  enemy  the 

churches  for  the  time  being  forget  their  differences.  The  under- 
taking of  a  common  task  was  the  best  teacher  of  co-operation. ^ 

Not  only  have  some  of  the  churches  learned  to 
co-operate  in  order  to  attain  a  certain  objective,  but 
they  have  gone  a  step  farther  and  have  actually  united 
into  one  organic  body.  They  have  surrendered  their 
particular  identity  and  become  a  part  of  a  new  organiza- 
tion. The  various  denominations  in  many  instances 
have  learned  to  use  the  same  method  in  accomplishing 
their  desired  object  about  which  Kipling  sings  in  his 
poem  "The  Method  Which  Will  Win"  in  the  war. 

It  ain't  the  guns  nor  amunition,  nor  the  funds  that 

they  can  pay; 
But  close  co-operation  that  makes  them  win  the  day. 
It  ain't  the  individual,  not  the  army  as  a  whole, 
But  the  everlasting  team  play  of  every  bloomin'  soul. 

^  Rev.  Thomas  Grey. 

2  Roy  B.  Guild,  National  Conference  for  Social  Work  (191 7),  p.  486. 


134  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

The  churches  have  learned  that  it  takes  team  play 
to  win.  Moreover,  that  the  team  which  is  most  closely 
united  plays  best.  So  it  may  be  said  that  a  prime 
factor  in  the  basis  upon  which  the  community  churches 
bring  about  denominational  unity  is  that  of  community 
service — the  basis  of  accomplishing  practical  ends.  Dr. 
Warren  H.  Wilson  has  said  in  this  respect  that  "the 
challenge  of  community  service  is  the  true  test  of  the 
Christian  in  all  denominations.  It  calls  the  men  of 
devout  minds  together.  It  disregards  the  divisions 
between  the  conservatives  and  the  liberals.  It  unites 
the  devout  and  humble  of  every  sort  of  name."' 

It  has  been  this  challenge  of  community  of  service 
and  of  the  accomplishment  of  certain  desired  practical 
ends  and  goals  that  has  been  the  basis  or  fundamental 
principle  upon  which  all  organizations  that  have  pre- 
viously been  given  which  show  a  trend  toward  denomina- 
tional unity  were  organized.  There  were  certain  desired 
practical  ends  to  be  accomplished.  Certain  persons  in 
certain  denominations  recognized  this.  They  recognized 
that  their  denomination  alone  could  not  accomplish  it. 
Therefore  they  sought  the  co-operation  of  other  denom- 
inations that  would  make  possible  the  attainment  of 
the  desired  end.  They  were  united  in  order  to  accom- 
plish some  things  that  were  for  their  common  welfare 
which  each  alone  could  not  accomplish.  They  threw 
aside  their  theoretical  or  doctrinal  differences  for  the 
attainment  of  practical  ends  that  were  for  their  mutual 
or  common  good.  These  common  objectives  united  them. 
They  did  for  the  constituent  denominations  of  those 
organizations  what  the  war  did  for  the  various  political 

*  The  Church  at  the  Center,  pp.  71-78. 


HOW  THE  CHURCH  BRINGS  ABOUT  UNITY         135 

parties,  locally  and  nationally.  They  were  all  united 
for  the  attainment  of  an  object  that  was  for  their  mutual 
welfare — the  overthrow  of  a  common  enemy  and  the 
making  safe  of  the  nations  and  the  world's  future.  The 
particular  theories  of  each  party  were  thrown  aside  for 
the  attainment  of  these  ends.  The  common,  practical 
end  desired  united  them.  The  same  is  true  of  the 
organizations  mentioned  before.  An  examination  of 
the  basis  of  their  organization  will  show  that  it  was 
not  a  theory  or  doctrine  but  a  practical  end  to  be 
attained. 

•  Herein,  then,  is  revealed  the  significance  of  the 
chapter  on  things  that  show  a  trend  toward  denom- 
inational unity.'  The  community  church  was  men- 
tioned as  one  of  those  organizations.  The  foregoing 
basis  is  the  one  upon  which  it  primarily  brings  about  the 
denominational  unity  found  in  it.  Herein  probably  lies 
the  thing  of  fundamental  and  primary  importance  in 
the  community  church  and  community-church  move- 
ment. The  primary  factor  in  the  basis  of  unity  found 
in  them  is  the  attainment  of  concrete  practical  ends, 
objects,  goals,  which  are  for  the  general  welfare.  This 
needs  to  be  added.  While  its  basis  of  unity  is  the  same 
as  that  upon  which  the  unity  of  the  other  organizations 
referred  to  was  formed,  its  method  of  organization 
differs.  In  the  other  organizations  the  constitutent 
bodies  retain  their  identity.  In  the  community  church 
they  lose  it.  In  the  former  there  is  co-operation.  In 
the  latter  there  is  absolute  unity.  Herein  lies  the  larger 
significance  of  the  community  church  as  respects  denom- 
inational unity  over  any  of  the  other  organizations  that 

I  See  chap,  ii,  p.  28. 


136  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

show  a  trend  in  that  direction.     In  it  there  is  real  unity, 
not  merely  co-operation  or  federation. 

The  element  of  economy  is  important  respecting  the 
subject  under  consideration.  The  unity  of  the  denom- 
inations composing  some  of  the  community  churches  was 
brought  about  avowedly  upon  this  basis.^  Some  of  the 
larger  church  federations  have  recommended  the  estab- 
lishment of  such  churches  upon  the  ground  that  they 
make  for  economy.  This  factor  has  elsewhere  been 
considered  rather  extensively.  It  only  remains  to  em- 
phasize here  that  it  is  a  very  important  one  as  concerns 
denominational  unity. 

Community  churches,  furthermore,  have  partially 
brought  about  denominational  unity  upon  the  basis  of 
efficiency.  The  church  has  had  to  face  the  present  and 
growing  demand  for  efficiency.  That  it  has  not  meas- 
ured up  to  this  demand  in  a  marked  degree  has  brought 
it  into  severe  criticism.  Some  of  the  community 
churches  and  some  of  the  previously  mentioned  organ- 
izations that  show  a  trend  toward  denominational 
unity  were  formed  in  order  to  meet  this  demand.  This 
was  an  element  that  figured  prominently  in  bringing  the 
constituent  denominations  together.  Separately  they 
were  not  efficient.  They  saw  that  by  uniting  they 
could  become  so.  It  has  been  pointed  out  that  the 
community  churches  are  uniformly  efficient,  judged  by 
ordinary  standards.  Efficiency,  then,  is  a  stone  in  the 
basic  foundations  upon  which  the  community  churches 
have  brought  about  the  unity  found  in  them.  It 
probably  will  be  a  primal  factor  in  the  basis  of  denom- 
inational unity  as  a  whole. 

^  Home  Mission  Council  of  the  State  of  Washington. 


HOW  THE  CHURCH  BRINGS  ABOUT  UNITY  137 

There  is  only  one  more  factor  to  be  mentioned  here 
respecting  how  the  community  churches  bring  about 
denominational  unity,  viz.,  the  practice  of  democracy. 
It  has  been  shown  before  that  these  churches  are  not 
only  democratic  in  theory,  but  that  they  are  actually 
so  in  practice,  and  that  this  practice  is  basic  with  them 
and  helps  them  to  bring  about  the  denominational 
unity  found  in  them.' 

How,  then,  do  the  community  churches  bring  about 
the  denominational  unity  found  in  them?  To  put  it 
into  a  brief,  concise,  and  comprehensive  statement, 
they  bring  it  about  by  (i)  adapting  themselves  to  meet 
the  needs  of  the  community  in  which  they  are  located; 
(2)  admitting  into  their  membership  persons  from  all 
denominations  irrespective  of  the  creed  or  polity  of 
such  denominations;  (3)  seeking  to  serve  the  whole 
life  of  the  whole  community  and  the  whole  life  of  all 
the  people  in  it;  (4)  the  practice  of  democracy;  (5) 
performing  such  service  economically  and  efficiently. 

^  See  p.  78. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE  METHOD  AND  BASIS  OF  UNITY  FOUND  IN  THE 

COMMUNITY  CHURCH  ARE  A  PROBABLE  METHOD 

AND  BASIS  FOR  DENOMINATIONAL  UNITY 

It  was  said  at  the  outset  of  this  study  that  it  would 
not  consider  all  the  new  problems  which  confronted  the 
church.^  Here  it  may  be  said  that  not  all  those  con- 
nected with  the  subject  of  this  thesis  have  been  con- 
sidered. To  have  done  so  would  have  taken  us  too  far 
afield.  The  final  question  that  will  be  given  considera- 
tion is:  Does  this  newly  evolving  type  of  church  show 
a  method  of  approach  to  and  a  probable  basis  for  de- 
nominational unity?  What  may  be  concluded  in  this 
respect  ? 

The  answer  given  to  this  question  that  is  of  such 
primary  importance  is  based  upon  the  evidence  which 
this  study  produced.  The  conclusion  is  one  that  was 
reached  upon  discovered  facts.  It  is  that  in  this  newly 
evolving  type  of  church,  a  probable  method  of  approach 
to  and  a  basis  for  denominational  unity  is  to  be  found. 
The  bases  for  this  conclusion  follows. 

It  has  been  previously  shown  that  the  method  of 
approach  of  the  community  churches  to  the  problem 
they  confront  was  scientific.  They  seek  to  get  all  the 
facts  concerning  a  community  and  plan  their  course  of 
action  on  the  basis  of  those  facts.  This  method  makes 
denominational  unity  possible  because  it  seeks  to  get 
all  the  facts  that  enter  into  the  problem.    It  seeks  to 

^  See  p.  2. 

138 


THE  METHOD  AND  BASIS  OF  UNITY  139 

study  the  situation  in  order  to  find  out  just  what  the 
conditions  and  needs  are,  so  that  a  rational  basis  may 
be  had  upon  which  to  formulate  a  course  of  action.  The 
actual  facts  having  been  collected,  classified,  and  system- 
atized, they  form  a  reliable  basis  upon  which  to  formulate 
a  conclusion  as  to  a  necessary  course  of  procedure  in 
order  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  situation.  No  problem 
is  ultimately  solved  until  it  is  solved  upon  the  basis  of 
fact.  This  being  so,  only  that  method  of  approach  to 
denominational  unity  which  seeks  the  facts  involved  is 
a  reliable  and  probable  one  for  its  solution.  This  is  the 
method  employed  by  the  community  church.  It  may 
therefore  be  concluded  that  this  newly  evolving  type 
of  church  furnishes  a  probable  and  reliable  method  of 
approach  to  the  problem  of  denominational  unity. 

A  summary  of  the  bases  upon  which  the  community 
church  brought  about  the  unity  found  in  it  has  been 
presented.^  They  are  likewise  the  probable  bases  for 
denominational  unity  as  a  whole.  They  are  such 
because  they  make  possible  the  mission  of  the  various 
denominations  and  the  church  as  a  whole,  viz.,  service 
which  meets  the  needs  of  the  situation  locally,  in  the 
home  field,  in  the  foreign  field — everywhere.  To  state 
it  differently,  they  make  possible  the  accomplishment 
of  certain  concrete  and  practical  objectives,  ends,  and 
goals  which  are  common  to  all  the  denominations  and 
the  church  as  a  whole,  and  which  no  denomination  can 
attain  by  itself.  It  was  primarily  upon  these  bases  that 
the  community  churches  brought  about  the  unity 
found  in  them.  It  was  by  functioning  so  as  to  meet  the 
needs  of  the  community,  by  doing  those  things  that  were 

^  See  chap.  viii. 


I40  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

for  the  general  welfare  of  the  community,  by  undertak- 
ing to  accomplish  certain  concrete  and  specific  objectives, 
ends,  and  goals.  It  is  upon  this  point  that  they  focus 
attention.  It  is  upon  the  basis  of  human  welfare,  both 
individual  and  social,  for  the  people  of  the  particular 
community  in  which  the  church  is  located,  primarily, 
and,  secondarily,  for  the  people  outside  of  that  commu- 
nity. They  united  the  various  denominations  found 
represented  in  them  in  order  to  attain  definite  and  specific 
ends  which  were  for  their  and  the  community's  common 
welfare. 

The  various  denominations  likewise  are  coming  to 
recognize  that  they  all  have  many  such  ends  in  common. 
In  fact  they  are  beginning  to  realize  that  their  aims, 
ends,  and  goals  which  are  really  vital  and  important  are 
nearly  all  common.  They  are  furthermore  realizing  that 
these  can  best  be  obtained  by  uniting  their  means  and 
forces.  This,  then,  is  the  probable  basis  upon  which 
denominational  unity  will  be  brought  about.  The  fol- 
lowing is  well  to  the  point: 

Thus  within  Protestantism  we  are  discovering  that  spiritual 
solidarity  of  which  men  have  sung,  but  which  has  with  great 
difficulty  been  put  into  operation.  In  other  words,  the  present 
method  is  not  of  getting  Protestant  Christians  to  agree  to  doctrine, 
but  of  influencing  them  to  co-operate  in  service.  The  way  to 
get  together  is  to  work  together.^ 

This  basis  of  service — the  attainment  of  certain 
specific  objective  ends  and  goals  that  are  for  the  common 
welfare — which  is  found  in  the  community  churches  is  a 
probable  basis  for  denominational  unity  because  it 
allows  for  the  most  fundamental  contention  of  Protes- 

^  Shailer  Mathews,  Biblical  World,  XL VI,  70. 


THE  METHOD  AND  BASIS  OF  UNITY  141 

tantism,  viz.,  freedom  of  thought  in  respect  to  religious 
matters — creeds,  dogmas,  faiths. 

These  churches  recognize  that  such  differences  do  and 
necessarily  must  exist.  They  recognize  the  principle  of 
freedom  of  thought,  but  they  do  also  demonstrate  that 
unity  of  action,  and  even  organic  unity,  can  exist  where 
there  is  such  freedom  of  thought  and  diversity  of  opin- 
ion. They  are  right  in  line  with  the  principle  of  democ- 
racy, which  allows  freedom  of  thought,  but  which  also 
results  in  unity  of  action.  In  a  democracy  each 
member  may  think  for  himself.  All  see  that  there  are 
some  things  that  are  for  the  common  welfare.  They 
unite  for  the  attainment  of  these  ends  which  they 
have  in  common.  They  say:  "There  are  some  things 
that  need  to  be  done.  They  are  for  our  common  and 
general  welfare.  We  are  agreed  upon  them.  Let  us 
unite  to  accomplish  these  things.  Each  individual  may 
still  hold  his  own  opinion,  think  as  he  pleases."  In 
other  words,  the  community  churches  have  for  their 
basis  of  unity  the  same  principles  that  our  government 
practices.  In  it  there  are  various  political  parties. 
Each  holds  a  different  theory  or  doctrine  of  government. 
Individuals  in  these  parties  likewise  hold  these  different 
theories.  In  some  instances,  in  so  far  as  they  think 
for  themselves,  they  may  hold  theories  different  from 
the  party  to  which  they  belong.  However,  there  are 
some  things  that  concern  the  general  welfare,  some 
specific  ends  to  be  secured,  some  goals  to  be  attained. 
There  is  unity  among  all  as  concerns  these  specific  ends. 
All  unite  to  attain  them.  There  is  a  difference  of  opinion 
as  to  theory  of  government  and  as  to  method  of  attain- . 
ing  these  concrete  ends.     There  is  freedom  of  thought. 


142  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

But  there  is  unity  of  action.  The  nation  is  one  in  this 
respect.  The  nation's  action  in  our  recent  war  is  an 
illustration  to  the  point.  There  was  vast  difference  of 
opinion  among  people  about  the  war  in  some  respects, 
but  there  was  absolute  unity  of  action  in  order  to  attain 
the  common  welfare.  This  is  the  basis  of  unity  found  in 
community  churches.  They  have  practiced  the  principle 
of  democracy.  Democracy  which  allows  freedom  of 
thought  and  results  in  unity  of  action  is  one  of  the  bases 
of  the  unity  found  in  them.  It  promises  well  now  to 
become  the  general  practice  among  men.  Therefore  it 
may  be  further  concluded  that  in  community  churches 
is  probably  to  be  found  a  basis  for  denominational 
unity. 

Such  churches  furnish  a  basis  for  denominational 
unity,  furthermore,  because  they  make  for  economy. 
That  they  do  so  has  been  elsewhere  sufficiently  illustrated. 
They  thus  meet  a  great  need  that  is  recognized  by  the 
various  denominations.  One  church  in  one  community 
uniting  all  denominations  into  one  body,  which  ministers 
to  the  needs  of  all  the  people  to  which  a  church  should 
minister,  makes  for  economy  by  eliminating  duplica- 
tion, overlapping,  and  competition.  It  makes  for 
economy  not  only  in  the  particular  community,  but  for 
general  economy.  This  demand  is  becoming  general  and 
insistent.  Things  that  meet  a  general  and  insistent 
demand  are  usually  made  use  of  and  adopted.  For  this 
reason  also  we  may  say  that  in  the  community  churches 
is  to  be  found  a  probable  basis  for  denominational 
unity. 

This  fact  in  itself,  that  denominational  unity  is 
found  in  the  community  churches,  goes  far  to  establish 


THE  METHOD  AND  BASIS  OF  UNITY  143 

the  conclusion  that  in  this  type  of  church  is  to  be  found 
a  probable  or  possible  basis  for  denominational  unity. 
The  scientific  basis  for  a  conclusion  is  fact.  Fact  also 
results  in  change  of  opinion.  The  fact  that  denomina- 
tional unity  actually  exists  in  the  community  churches 
will  result  in  a  change  of  opinion  regarding  the  denom- 
inational unity  and  the  probable  basis  for  it.  As  one 
has  said:  "The  natural  history  of  opinion  is  always  a 
change  of  practice  and  then  a  change  of  opinion."^ 

It  is  likewise  true  that  a  change  in  opinion  results  in 
a  change  of  practice.  The  importance  of  this  study  lies 
just  at  this  point.  It  shows  a  change  of  practice  on  the 
part  of  the  church.  It  shows  that  instead  of  philoso- 
phizing about  religion  it  is  beginning  to  practice  it.  It 
shows  that  the  people  are  beginning  to  leave  off  theoriz- 
ing and  are  beginning  to  act.  This  change  of  practice 
in  respect  to  denominational  unity  will  result  in  a  change 
of  opinion  regarding  it.  This  change  of  opinion  will  in 
turn  result  in  the  adoption  of  the  practice  which  caused 
it.  Therefore  we  may  further  conclude  that  in  these 
churches  is  to  be  found  a  probable  basis  for  denomina- 
tional unity. 

To  summarize,  it  may  finally  be  concluded  from  the 
foregoing  study  that  in  the  community  church  is  to  be 
found  a  probable  method  of  approach  to  and  bases  for 
denominational  unity  because:  (i)  Its  method  of 
approach  is  the  scientific  one.  (2)  Its  bases  of  unity 
are:  adaptation  to  the  needs  of  the  situation;  the 
admission  of  representatives  of  all  denominations 
irrespective  of  creed  or  polity  to  membership;  the 
focusing  of  attention  upon  the  attainment  of   certain 

^  Robert  E.  Park,  letter  of  January  2,  1919. 


144  THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 

specific  objectives,  ends,  and  goals  that  are  the  common 
aims  of  all  the  denominations  and  which  are  for  the 
general  welfare;  making  such  attainment  primary;  the 
practice  of  democracy;  economy  and  efficiency  in 
functioning.  Upon  the  basis  of  this  scientific  method 
of  approach  to,  and  these  concrete  practical  bases  of 
unity  found  in,  the  community  churches,  then,  it  may 
be  reasonably  concluded  that  denominational  unity  may 
be  brought  about,  all  the  undesirable  results  of  denomina- 
tionalism  may  be  eliminated,  and  a  united  church  may 
fulfil  its  mission  of  service,  such  a  service  as  will  meet 
the  needs  for  human  welfare  in  every  respect  which  the 
social  situation  presents;  as  will,  in  short,  bring  about 
the  "Kingdom  of  God  on  earth." 


APPENDIX  A 
LOCATION  OF  COMMUNITY  CHURCHES' 


Allentown,  N.Y. 

Alpine,  Tenn. 

Apanoosa,  III. 

Area,  III. 

Argyle,  Iowa 

Aston,  Wis. 

Ayers,  Mass. 

Beech,  Iowa 

Benzonia,  Mich. 

Blue  Mounds,  Kan. 

Boston,  Mass. 

Brooklyn,  N.Y. 

Buckhom,  Ky. 

Camp  Upton,  L.I. 

Central  Falls,  R.I. 

Chicago,  111. 

Cristobal,       Panama       (Canal 

Zone) 
Claremont,  Cal. 
Cleveland,  Ohio 
Collegeport,  Tex. 
Columbus,  Ohio 
CuUeoka,  Okla. 
Dallas,  Tex. 
Darley,  N.Y. 
Denver,  Colo. 
Derby,  N.Y. 
Des  Moines,  Iowa 
Detroit,  Mich. 
Dublin,  Ohio 


Elmhurst,  lU. 
Enterprise,  Ore. 
Fancy  Creek,  Mich. 
Fargo,  N.D. 
Franklin,  Ind. 
Garrettsville,  Ohio 
Genesee,  Idaho 
Gibson  City,  111. 
Gilbert,  Iowa 
Glover,  Vt. 
Greenfield,  Mass. 
Hanover,  N.J. 
Harlington,  Tex. 
Harmony,  Mo. 
Hiram,  Ohio 
Holyoke,  Mass. 
Honey  Creek,  Wis. 
Huntsville,  Ala. 
Hydesville,  Cal. 
Irisburg,  Mass. 
Kaneville,  111. 
Kennewick,  Wash. 
Kimball,  Neb. 
Kinderbrook,  N.Y. 
La  Grange,  Wis. 
Lakeville,  Ohio 
Leland,  111. 
Linary,  Tenn. 
Lincoln,  Vt. 
Little  Britain,  N.Y. 


^  This  is  not  a  complete  list  of  community  churches.     For  instance, 
Chicago  has  several  such  churches. 


145 


146 


THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 


Little  Pine,  Ark. 
Lombard,  111. 
McClellandtown,  Pa. 
Marion,  Kan. 
Marley,  lU. 
MarseiUes,  111. 
Minden,  Iowa 
Monroe,  Wis. 
Monroe  Center,  111. 
Morgan  Park,  Minn. 
Oakland,  Cal. 
Odessa,  Wash. 
Orange,  Ohio 
Park  Ridge,  111. 
Pigeon  Creek,  Wis. 
Pittsburgh,  Pa. 
Plainfield,  lU. 
Pleasant  Lake,  Ind. 
Providence,  R.I. 
Quincy,  Mass. 
Randolph,  Vt. 
Ravenswood,  Mo. 
Rockport,  Mass. 
RoUo,  lU. 
Round  Prairie,  Kan. 


Sandstone,  Minn. 
Sandwich,  111. 
Saxtons  River,  Vt. 
Scio,  Ore. 
Scotia,  Cal. 
Sheridan,  111. 
Shopiere,  Wash. 
Sierra  Madre,  Cal. 
Thurston  County,  Wash. 
Toppenish,  Wash. 
Versailles,  Ky. 
Wabasha,  Minn. 
Wauconda,  111. 
Waupun,  Wis. 
Wellington,  Colo. 
West  Fairlie,  Vt. 
Western  Springs,  III. 
Westfield,  Vt. 
Wilboux,  Mont. 
Wilton  Center,  111. 
Windsor,  Wis. 
Winnetka,  111. 
Winona,  Mich. 
Wixom,  Mich. 
Woodlawn,  Tenn. 


APPENDIX  B 

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APPENDIX  B  153 

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INDEX 


INDEX 


Abstract  doctrines,  32 

Accomplishment,  objective,  131 

Activities:  of  community  churches, 
98;  foreign  missionary,  44; 
social,  88;   variation  in,  loi 

Adults,  104 

Africa,  15 

Agriculture,  87 

Amateur  plays,  104 

America,  5,  6,  43,  49;  Christian 
churches  of,  47 ;  rural  com- 
munities of,  87;  spiritual  needs 
of,  46 

American:  colony,  97;  popula- 
tion, 11;  society,  i;  Sunday 
School  Union,  41 

American    Journal    of   Sociology: 

John    L.     Gillin,    38;     E.    C. 

Hayes,  26,  57,  67;    Warren  H. 

Wilson,  122 
American    Journal    of    Theology, 

Alfred  Williams  Anthony,  29 
Amusement,  loi,  102,  104 
Anthony,  Alfred  Williams,  29,  36, 

37,97,131 
Army,  133;  camp,  90 
Arts  and  sciences,  29,  88 
Ash  ton,  Wisconsin,  84 
Associate  membership,  77,  78 
Athletic:    club,  94,  95;    director, 

70;  teams,  102 
Athletics,  106 
Atlantic  Monthly,  February,  1918, 

43 
Attendance,  10;  loss  of,  23 
Automobile,  86 
Ayers,  Massachusetts,  89 

Babies,  107 
Band,  71 


Baptist,  8,  9,  10,  II,  35,  49,  64, 
69,  70,  89,  126,  132 

Baptist  Church,  39 

Barr,  Norman  B.,  126 

Barriers,  37 

Baseball,  no 

Basis:  for  denominational  unity, 
98,  134,  138,  142,  143;  of 
service,  47;  of  theology,  to 
unite  the  denominations,  47; 
of  unity  found  in  community 
welfare,  142,  143;  of  unity  of 
community  churches,  141; 
probable,  140;   rational,  139 

Basket-ball,  70,  95 

Battlefields  of  Europe,  35,  36 

Bazars,  106 

Beach,  Iowa,  125 

"Beautifying  the  Home  Farm,"  84 

BeHefs,  43 

Benevolences,  100 

Benevolent  contribution,  loi 

Bible:  readings,  96,  102;  school, 
117 

Biblical  World,  Shailer  Mathews, 
29,  45,  48,  140 

Bibliothaca  Sacra:  Fred  W. 
Palmer,  10;  George  Frederick 
Wells,  56 

Billiard  rooms,  no 

Blair,  Nebraska,  10 

Borderline,  82;  case,  90;  churches, 
84,  96;  group,  80 

Bowling  alley,  89 

Boy  Scout,  70,  94,  95,  102,  108 

Boys:  club,  116;  social  and  recrea- 
tional activities  for,  70 

Bread,  88 

Brotherhood,  103;  club,  no; 
plea  for,  45 


157 


158 


THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 


Brotherly  love,  99 

Bryn  Mawr  Community  Church, 

Chicago,  64 
Budget,  105 
Burr,  Walter,  86 
Business  men,  34,  35,  78 

Cabildo,  91 

Camp:  activities,  102;  Devons, 
90;  Fire,  95 

Camp  Fire  Girls,  94,  108,  115 

Cantonment,  89 

Capital,  29 

Catholic,  6,  37,  42,  69,  78,  82,  84, 
126;  membership,  19;  seating 
capacity  of  churches,  19,  33 

Cemetery,  84 

Centenary  Missionary  Conference, 
45 

Center:  of  religious  life,  86; 
social,  100 

Centripetal  forces,  28 

Century  Magazine,  56 

Ceremony,  39 

Change,  social,  121 

Chapel,  cross-roads,  67 

Chaplains,  35 

Charity,  38 

Chicago,  10,  69;  Church  Federa- 
tion Council,  27;  Lincoln 
Center,  26;  Olivet  Institute,  30, 
71,82 

Children,  108 

China,  45 

Choir,  71 

Choral  Club,  71 

Christ,  121 

Christian  Advocate,  November  6, 
1913,  72 

Christian:  brotherhood,  99; 
center,  90;  Church,  120,  121; 
Church  of  America,  the  essential 
oneness  of,  47;  citizenship,  108; 
community,     55;      forces,     39; 


message,  100;  spirit,  growth  in, 
99;  unity,  39,  45 

Christian  Century:  W.  W.  Church, 
72;  J.  Mack  Mills,  77;  W.  S. 
Pritchard,  57;  W.  B.  Zimmer- 
man, 125 

Christian  Science,  64 

Christian  Union  Quarterly,  Charles 
S.  McFarland,  22,  45 

Christians,  7,  43,  49,  57 

Christmas,  106 

Church,  I,  2,  7,  12,  27,  33,  38,  67, 
89,  99,  100,  128,  138,  139,  143; 
an  inconsiderate  factor,  69; 
central,  70;  country,  112;  de- 
cadent condition  of,  64;  dupli- 
cation, 50;  federation,  130,  136; 
function  of,  86;  independent, 
122;  membership,  19;  mission 
of,  31,  69;  new  type  of,  54,  55; 
of  one  faith,  5;  publicity,  106; 
rivalry,  72;  united,  144 

Church  at  the  Center,  The,  Warren 
H.  Wilson,  59 

Church  Federation  in  Terms  of 
Fraternity,  Democracy,  and 
Altruism,  Alfred  W.  Anthony, 
37 

Church  of  Christ,  76 

Church  of  the  Brethren,  Waterloo, 
Iowa,  30 

Church  of  the  Messianic  Message,  7 

Church  of  the  Open  Country,  The, 
Warren  H.  Wilson,  59 

Church,  W.  W.,  72 

Churches,  9,  11,  44;  abandoned, 
11,12;  competing,  12,  23;  dead, 
21;  dying,  11,  12;  overlapping 
of,  13;  pastorless,  15;  super- 
fluous, 13 

Citizenship  class,  95 

City,  24,  36,  100;  beauty  of,  100; 
communities,  24,  72 

Civic  centers,  91 

Claremont,  123 

Clinic,  ear,  nose,  and  throat, 
dental,  94,  96 


INDEX 


159 


Club:  boys',  116;  brotherhood, 
no;  handicraft,  116;  Italian, 
115;  mother's,  no,  116; 
women's,  116 

Clubrooms,  in 

Cole,  Charles,  L.,  99,  103,  104 

College  of  Agriculture,  84 

College  students,  43 

Collegeport,  Texas,  74,  125 

Comedy,  107 

Comity,  16,  64,  84;  committee  on, 
49;  to  promote  practice  of,  50 

Commission  for  a  World  Confer- 
ence on  Faith  and  Order,  48 

Committee  on:  Church  Co- 
operation, and  Unity,  49; 
Comity,  Federation  and  Unity, 
49;  Health,  71;  Rural  Life,  30; 
State  and  Local  Federation,  97 

Common:  end,  99,  103;  good, 
134;  objective,  134;  tasks,  43; 
welfare,    42 

Communicants,  9 

Community:  attitude,  81; 
budget,  104;  building,  99,  103, 
104;  center,  87,  105;  central  in 
every  interest,  67;  defined,  58, 
59;  functioning,  59;  health,  102; 
house,  70,  88,  108,  no;  over- 
churched,  60;  planning,  88,  89; 
program,  93;  religion,  87;  school, 
88;  service,  104,  134;  social  and 
spiritual  salvation  of,  86;  spirit 
and  program,  90;  welfare,  70, 
102,  132 

Community  Cathedral  Church,  56 
Community  Church,  i,  2,  30,  34, 
38,  49,  '53,  54,  55,  57,  5^,  62, 
64,  65,  69,  72,  T7„  74,  75,  76, 
78,  88,  91,  102,  103,  105,  107, 
113,    121,    124,    126,    128,    129, 

130,  131,  132,  135,  139,  140, 
141,  143;  activities,  31,  34,  113, 
131,^  general,  99,  100,  loi, 
specific,  loi,  102,  105;  brings 
about     denominational     unity, 

131,  132,  134,  137;  by-laws, 
130;  center  of  life  of  community, 


71;  classified  ,80;  constitutions, 
130;  definition  of,  55,  58,  59, 
60,  79,  90;  denominational,  122, 
130,  142,  143;  doctrine  and 
creeds,  76;  federated,  81;  func- 
tion of,  60,  61,  62;  fundamental 
characteristics,  62,  78;  funda- 
mental objectives,  73;  funda- 
mental principles,  75,  77;  illus- 
trations, 66,  67,  69;  increasing, 
51;  mission  of,  65;  new,  78,  80; 
pastors  of,  59;  polity,  80; 
prevents  overlapping,  duplica- 
tion of  service,  material  equip- 
ment, and  expenditure  for  main- 
tenance, 73;  program,  59;  pur- 
poses of,  61;  rural,  62;  serves 
whole  community,  63,  72;  types 
of,  81,  97,  130,  137;  uniformity, 
loi;  variety  among  them,  80, 
loi;  welfare,  16,  21,  50 

Community  House,  Winnetka, 
Illinois,  108 

Community  Study  for  Country 
Districts,  Anna  B.  Taft,  7 

Competing  institutions,  72 

Competition,  46,  142;  denomina- 
tional, 72;  unregulated,  28,  30 

Concerts,  71 

Conclusion,  138 

Conditions,  100 

Conferences,  church,  2 

Congestion,  93 

Congregational,  10,  n,  43,  64; 
poHty,  51 

Congregational  Church,  133 

Congregational  Community 
Church,  30,  76,  78,  81;  activi- 
ties of,  107 

Congregationalist  and  Advance,  90 

Congregationalists,  35,  89,  126 

Consciences,  77 

Constructive  Quarterly,  Kirshner, 
32 

Consultation,  46 

Contention,  9 

Continent,  5 


i6o 


THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 


Cooking,  94,  95 

Co-operation,  29,  30,  39,  44,  46, 

47,  49,  56,  72,  88,  90,  97,  106, 
^33,  134,  135,  136;  community, 
71;  efficient,  46;  interchurch 
and  interdenominational  de- 
mand for,  45;   trend  toward,  84 

Co-operative  organization,  i 
Cottage  prayer  meeting,  96 
Country    Church    and    the    Rural 

Problem,  The,  Kenyon  L.  But- 

terfield,  22 
Country        Community,         122; 

Church,    8,    24,    25,    100,    105; 

Club,  106 
Cowan,  John  F.,  74 
Cowgill,  Missouri,  8 
Creedal  test,  76,  130 
Creeds,  39,  51,  76,  77,  78,  108,  120, 

126,  130,  141 
Creoles,  93 
Cubans,  93 
Curtis,  W.  C,  72 

Daily  News  Almanac  and  Year 
Book  (1918),  42 

Day  of  the  Country  Church,  The, 
J.  O.  Ashenhurst,  16 

Deaconesses,  91 

Democracy,  67,  137,  141,  142; 
practice  of,  143 

Democratic,  78,  79;  government, 
100 

Denominational:  affiliation,  81; 
barriers,  37,  43;  changing,  51; 
channels,  91;  church,  91;  differ- 
ences, 31,  51,  66;  fold,  100; 
groups,  44;  loyalty,  51;  over- 
lapping and  overlooking,  15,  28; 
prejudice,  41;  rivalry,  23;  situ- 
ation, 2,  5;  stubbornness  or 
factions,  13;  waste,  28 

Denominational  unity,  i,  2,  3,  37, 

48,  126,  128,  129,  130,  132,  137; 
basis  for,  134;  fundamental 
principle  of,  74,  75;  movement 
toward,   128;    practice  of,  122, 


123;  practiced  by  community 
churches  (illustrations),  122, 
123,  124,  125;  probable  method 
of,  3;  trend  toward,  causes,  28, 
30,  32,  33,  34,  35,  36,  37,  38, 
39,  40,  41,  42,  43,  44,  45,  47,  48, 
49,  51,  53,  97,  98,  102,  134,  135, 
136 
Denominationalism,  5,  6,  15,  16, 
19,  33.  53,  123,  144;  little  care 
for,  50;  result  of,  7,  21,  22,  24, 
25,  26,  28,  34,  53;  shield  of,  13 

Denominations,  5,  6;  minor,  7; 
Protestant,  42;  Protestant 
evangelical,  47 

Destitution,  46 

Detachment,  100 

Deterioration,  46 

Devotional  services,  loi 

Differences:  doctrinal,  134;  the- 
oretical, 134 

Dignity,  89 

Disciples,  126 

Disciples  of  Christ,  8,  14,  43,  49,  64 

Dissipations,  22 

Disunion,  27 

Diversity,  67 

Divided  church,  6,  7,  28;  fields, 
12 

Division,  5,  27,  46,  134;  denomina- 
tional, 6;  results,  6 

Divorce,  increase  of,  i 

Doctor,  the,  70 

Doctrinal  test,  76;  interests,  31 

Doctrine,  140;  of  religious  unity, 
33 

Dogma  and  doctrine,  31,  33,  34,  47 

Dogmas,  126,  141 

Domestic  servants,  108 

Dramatics,  106,  107;  club,  108 

Dunkards,  86 

Du  Page  Presbyterian  Church,  82, 
103 

Duplication,  50;  administrative, 
48;  of  equipment,  44 


INDEX 


i6i 


Ecclesiastical  machinery,  S3 
Economic  expediency,  72;    waste, 

72 
Economy,    13,   73,   97,    142,    143; 

demand  for,   72;    in  men,   73; 

lack  of,  19,  29 
Edinburgh  Conference  on  World 

Missions,  45 
Education,  100,  in 
Efficiency,  13,  29,  70,  73,  89,  97, 

136,  143 
Efficient,  socially,  99 
Effusionists,  51 
Elder,  56 
Employment,  71 
England,  5 
English,  93,  96 

Entertainment,  loi,  102,  106,  116 
Episcopal  Church,  9,  10,  13,  48,  49 
Episcopalians,  35,  49,  126 
Essentials,  38;  of  Christian  faith,  89 
Europe,  battlefields  of,  35 
Evangelical:    Christianity,  30,  75; 

church,  77;    denominations,  75, 

78 
Evangelism,  103 

Expenditure  of  men  and  money,  44 
Extension  lecture  service,  104 
Extermination,  29 
Extra  community,  90 
Extravagance,  20 

Facts,  only  sure  foundation,  62 

Fairview,  Pennsylvania,  13 

Faith,  S3',  denominational,  60; 
distinctions  of,  35 

Faiths,  141 

Fall  festivals,  106 

Farm  co-operation,  104 

Farmers,  105,  106;  club,  104;  co- 
operative organization  among, 
I,  34;  institute,  35,  66 

Farmsteads,  84 


Federal  idea,  ^^ 

Federated  church,  69;  Marion, 
Kansas,  72;  movements,  44 

Federation,  16,  44,  45,  69,  72,  97, 
136;  city,  township,  and  group, 
50;  home  mission  fields,  47; 
of  churches,  36,  136;  over- 
churched  fields,  47 

Fellowship,  76,  107;  interdenomi- 
national, 48 

Fidehty  to  community  spirit,  60 

First  Church  of  CoUegeport,  Texas, 

.    74 

First  United  Presbyterian  Church, 
Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania,  61 

Folly,  89 

Forces,  centripetal,  28 

Foreigners,  14,  69 

Foreign  field,  45;  sections,  loi 

Foresight,  89 

Form,  39 

Fourth  of  July,  66,  106 

Fourth  Presbyterian  Church,  Pitts- 
burgh, Pennsylvania,  81 

Fraternity,  123 

Freedom,  of  expression,  5;  of 
thought,  141 

French,  91;  quarter,  91 

"  Friendly  relations, "  70 

Friendship  Circle,  108 

Galpin,  C.  J.,  86,  103 

Game  rooms,  115 

GasoHne  engines,  84 

General:  activities,  99,  1 01;  clinic, 
94,  96;  Conferences,  44;  Coun- 
cil, 44;  Synod,  44;  welfare,  70, 
79,  99,  132 

German,  5;  Baptists,  86 

Gill,  C.  O.,  35,  61,  77 

Gillin,  John  L.,  38,  66 

Gladden,  Washington,  39,  55 

God,  88,  122;  glory  of,  75;  King- 
dom of,  144 


l62 


THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 


Gray,  Thomas,  6i,  133 

Greater     Parish     of      Benzonia, 

Michigan,  103 
Green,  C.  R.,  69 
Group  welfare,  99,  loi 
Groups,  denominational,  44 
Guild,  Roy  B.,  43,  -^33 
Gymnasium,  no;  girls',  115 

Handicraft  club,  116 

Harlan,  Rolvyx,  57 

Harmony,  124 

Hayes,  E.  C,  57,  63 

Head  resident,  95 

Health,  71,  104 

Hersey,  Lieutenant  Harold,  35 

Hired:  girls,  67;  man,  67 

History,  107 

Home,  57;  nursing,  94,  95 

Home  Department  of  the  Board  of 

Missions,   Methodist  Episcopal 

Church,  South,  91 
Home  Mission  Boards,  16;    work, 

46 
Home  Missionary  Council,  16 

Home  Missions  Council,  46,  49, 
50;  of  the  State  of  Washington, 
57,  64,  136 

Homiletic  Review,  January,  1919, 
44;  John  F.  Cowan,  69 

Hospital  patients,  96 

Household  economics,  102 

Houses,  tenement,  boarding,  room- 
ing, small  apartment,  93 

Huguenots,  5 

Human:  brotherhood,  37;  touch, 
90 

Humanity,  43 

Humidity,  93 

Hungarians,  113 

Hurricane  Community  Church, 
61,  81,  131 

Hut,  43 


Idaho,  14 

Ideals,  93 

Illustrated  lectures,  7 1 

Immersion,  39 

Immersionist  denominations,  51 

Imperial,  S3 

Impoverishment,  89 

Independent,  Albert  J.  Kennedy,  11 

Indifference,  69 

Individual,  133;  church  suprema- 
cy, 9;  saving  the,  100;  spiritual 
and  social  salvation  of  the,  86  ' 

Industrial :  community,  i  o  i ; 
prosperity,  100 

Industry  democratization  of,  i 

Inefficiency,  21,  24,  28,  97;  of 
city  churches,  25;    religious,  22 

Infant  mortality,  102 

Interchurch  co-operation,  35 

Interchurch  Worker's  Conference, 
Chicago,  37 

Interchurch  World  Movement  of 
North  America,  121 

Interdenominational :  fellowship, 
48;  missionary  boards,  21 

Interests:  civic,  70;  health,  edu- 
cational, and  recreational,  70; 
of  economy,  unity,  the  glory  of 
God,  the  greater  good  of  man- 
kind, 47;  promoting  common, 
43;  religious,  88 

InternationaHsm,  i 

Inter- War  Work  Activities  Fund, 
The,  37 

Introduction  to  Rural  Sociology, 
Paul  L.  Vogt,  99 

Irreligion,  30 

Italian  club,  115 

Italians,  91,  93,  96,  113 

Jacobite  Church,  7 
Jehovah  Conference,  6 
Jensen,  Howard  E.,  31,  48,  99 

Jesus  Christ,  13,  33,  42,  47,  55, 
123,  126;  follower  of ,  60 


INDEX 


163 


Jewish  welfare  worker,  43 

Jews,  78,  82 

Juanita  County,  Pennsylvania,  7 

Judgment  day,  31 

Juvenile  delinquency,  102 

Kansas  City,  43 

Kansas:    Dover,  8;    county  seat 

town,  10 
Kindergarten,  115 
King,  Irving,  100,  106 
Kingdom  of  God,  60,  65,  69,  144; 

of    Heaven,    establishment   of, 

46 
Kiphng,  133 
Kitchen  garden,  95 

Labor,  29,  35;  hours,  100 

Laborers,  113 

Ladies'    Home    Journal:     David 

Littell,   25;     Ethelbert  Talbot, 

121,  129 
Laity,  the,  2>Z,  5i 
Lane  County,  Oregon,  Survey,  11, 

17,  23,  6s 
Language  study,  102 
Layman,  39 
Laymen's  Missionary  Movement, 

43 
Leadership,  88 
Lectures,  84,  104 
Lee  Land  Company,  87,  88 
Leeland,  89 
Leeland    Community    Plan,    The, 

Earl  Marion  Todd,  89 
Leveling  forces,  28 
Liberty,  spiritual,  5,  38 
Library,  88,  104;  public,  71 
Life,  the  more  abundant,  91 
"Limping  country  church,"  105 
Lincoln  Center,  26 
Literary  societies,  106 
"Loop"  in  Chicago,  82,  107 


Lutheran,    Evangelical    (Associa- 
tion), 13,  44 
Lutherans,  64,  126 

McAfee,  J.  E.,  60,  loi 
McComas,  Henry  C,  31 

McFarland,  Charles  S.,  45 

McNutt,  Matthew  Brown,  62 

Magazine  and  book  exchange,  71 

Major  groups,  6 

Manual  of  the  United  Church  of 
Garrettsville,  Ohio,  39,  75 

Manual  training,  115 

Marginal  man,  the,  67 

Marion,  Kansas,  72 

Marketing,  87 

Masonic  order,  ^;^ 

Massachusetts,  59,  74;  Federation 
of  Churches,  17,  75 

Material    welfare,    99;     environ- 
ment, 99 

Mathews,  Shailer,  29,  30,  44,  48 

Membership:  less  than  one  hun- 
dred, 11;  net  loss,  23;  gain,  23 

Memorial  Day,  106 

Men  and  Missions,  48,  59 

Mennonites,  86 

Men's  Brotherhood,  108;  building, 
96 

Methodist     Episcopal     Church, 
South,  8,  44,  93 

Methodist  Protestant,  44,  132 

Methodists,  9,  10,  11,  13,  51,  64, 
69,  89,  136 

Middle  West,  1 2 

Mills,  Harlow  S.,  61 

Mills,  J.  Mack,  77 

Ministers,  shortage  of,  47 

MinneapoUs,  Minn.,  20 

Minor  groups,  6 

Mission  Boards,  11;  churches,  71 

Missionary  appropriations,  20 

Missionary  Review,  Philip  Smead 
Bird,  124 


164 


THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 


Missionary  Societies,  9;   club,  94; 

funds,  46 
Mississippi  River,  93 
Missouri,  Cowgill,  8 
Modern  heating  plants,  84 
Modern  Methods   in   the   Country 

Church,        Matthew        Brown 

McNutt,  62 
Morse,  Ayers  and,  65 
Mothers'  Club,  no,  116 
Movement:     for    federation    and 

unity,  45;   for  profit  sharing,  i; 

for   religious,    social   and   civic 

betterment,  50;  social,  54 
Moving  pictures,  102,  104,  106 
Municipal  Church,  55,  56 
Municipahty,  58 
Music,  71,  86,  88 
Musical  education,  loi 
Musicals,  71 

Nation,  47 

National  Conference  of  Social 
Work,  43 

National  Conference  for  Social 
Work,  Roy  B.  Guild,  133 

National  League  for  Wholesome 
Motion  Pictures,  107 

Nationality,  108 

Needs:  economic,  educational, 
recreational,  religious,  social, 
aesthetic  and  hygienic,  87;  of  the 
community,  107;  social,  107 

"Neglected  field  surveys,"  15 

Negroes,  93 

Neighborhood,  87;  club,  108 

New  Orleans,  La.,  90 

New  York,  state  of,  9,  48 

Norm,  129 

Nursery,  106 

Oak  Mound  Congregational 
Church,  82 

Objectives,  90,  91,  144;  ac- 
complishment of,  131 


Ohio,  IS,  16,  77 

Old  Testament,  42 

Olivet  Institute,  82 

Olivet  Institute,  63,  113,  114,  115, 
125;  activities,  113,  115,  116, 
117,  119;  community,  113,  117; 
educational  department,  115; 
relief  department,  116;  religious 
department,  117 

One-church  towns,  19 

Open  Country,  7,  81,  82,  105 

Orange  Township,  66 

Orchestra,  no 

Oregon,  Lane  County,  Survey,  11, 
17 

Organic  Union,  44,  120 

Organization,  ecclesiastical,  44 

"Other  worldly"  points  of  view, 
131 

Outside  aid,  19 

Overchurching,  7,  11,  12,  18,  25; 
in  California,  9;  New  York 
state,  9;  of  small  towns,  9; 
results  of,  17,  18;  widespread, 
13 

Over-cultivated,  15 

Overlapping,  7,  8,  10,  13,  15,  16, 
20,  21,  27,  45,  47,  so,  64,  72, 
73,  97,  I2S,  127,  142;  in 
Massachusetts,  8,  12;  of  terri- 
tory, 48 

Pagan,  7 

Paid  workers,  114 

Panama,  97 

Parish,  86;    house,  71;   priest,  84 

"Parish  Church,"  s6 

Parishes,  struggling,  73 

Park,  Robert  E.,  131,  143 

Parsonage,  86 

Parties,  106 

Part-time:  ministers,  18;  services, 

15 
Patriotism,  107 
Paul,  Z3> 


INDEX 


l6S 


Pennsylvania,  23,  66 

Personal  salvation,  31,  99 

Philadelphia  Conference,  121 

Philosophy  of  religion,  130 

Physicians,  104 

Piano,  84,  86 

Pilgrims,  5 

Pipe  organ,  104 

Pitman,  H.  H.,  105,  106 

Playground,  94 

Plays,  amateur,  104 

Point  of  view:    "other  worldly," 

30,  31,  131,  "this  worldly,"  30, 

31,  131 
Policy,  47 

Polity,  51,  126,  130,  131 
Polyglot  population,  93 
Pontalba  Flats,  91 
Population:  American,  11;  organ- 
ization of,  i;   rural,  14 
Practical  ends,  134,  135 
Practices,  43,  120,  130 
Preaching,  loi;  services,  106,  108 

Presbyterian   Board  of   Missions, 

60,  lOI 
Presbyterian  Church,  120 

Presbyterians,  8,  13,  35,  43,  49, 
64,  89,  120,  132 

Press,  religious,  39 

Priest,  42;  parish,  84 

Principles:  fundamental,  5;  of 
Christianity,  88 

Principles  of  Sociology,  Albion  W. 
Small,  31 

Pritchard,  W.  S.,  57 

Probable  basis  for  denominational 
unity,  140 

Problems:  common,  70;  discus- 
sion of  economic,  civil,  and 
social,  100,  overlapping,  over- 
looking, inefficiency,  economic 
waste,  57;   world,  47 

Proceedings  of  the  American  Socio- 
logical Society,  CO.  Gill,  15 


Proceedings  of  the  National  Confer- 
ence of  Social  Work,  Arthur  J. 
Todd,  23 

Prodigality,  22 

Production,  87;  of  wealth,  and 
men,  87;  of  women,  88 

Programs:  constructive,  2; 
evangelistic,  103;  Sunday  eve- 
ning, 106;   world,  121 

Prohibition  movement,  102 

Protection  of  children  and  youth, 
100 

Protestant,  6,  37;  churches,  51; 
denominations,  42;  groups,  6; 
membership,  19;  ministers,  43; 
seating  capacity,  19 

Protestant  bodies:  need  of  refor- 
mation of ,  26;  unregulated  com- 
petition of,  16 

Protestantism,  34,  140;  cen- 
trifrugal  forces  of,  27,  28; 
Christian,  90,  97;  divided,  7; 
imbecility  of,  26 

Psychology  of  Religious  Sects, 
Henry  C.  McComas,  28 

Public:  health,  100;  recreation, 
100 

Puritan,  5 

Purpose,  unity  of,  69 

Quaker  Hill,  122 
Quakers,  5,  64 

Railroad,  71,  78 
Reading-room,  71,  104 
Realignment  of  the  churches,  47 
Reasoning,  63;  prior,  63 
Recent  war,  i,  35,  89 
Recreation,  108 
Recreational:    faciUties,   88;    life, 

loi,  104 
Rectory,  84 

Red  Cross,  no;   relief  work,  102 
Reformation,  121 
Refreshments,  106 


i66 


THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 


Regions,  neglected,  14 

Religion,  :is,  34,  62,  87,  88; 
modem,  99;  on  a  side  street,  69; 
philosophy  of,  130;  social  con- 
ception of,  99, 

Religious:  center,  123;  culture, 
100;  destitution,  14;  education, 
11;  forces,  88;  interests,  88; 
life,  88;  press,  39;  sanctions, 
5;  sanity,  ss',  shibboleths,  35; 
the  distinctly,  106;  unity,  34, 
42,43 

Religions  Education,  Irvdng  King, 
100 

Resident  pastors,  15 

Residential  section,  loi 

Rituals,  39 

Rivalries,  89 

River  Brethren,  87 

Road-making,  69,  102,  104 

Robe  of  Christ,  7 

Rockefeller,  Mr.,  39 

Rollo  Community  Church,  105 

Root  Talmage,  E.,  50 

Rural:  activities,  103;  church 
building,  87;  church  center,  89; 
church  movement,  72;  com- 
munity, 7,  24,  66,  87,  loi; 
districts,  15,  42;  life,  30; 
regions  neglected,  14;  schools, 
104;   sections,  12 

Rural  churches:  co-operation  and 
federation  of,  72;  economy  of, 
84;  general  welfare  of,  100 

Rural  Manhood,  9,  87;  Ernest  W. 
Burgess,  10;  E.  R.  Groves,  66; 
Roy  B.  Guild,  10 

Rural  Problems  of  Today,  Ernest 
B.  Groves,  34 

Sacrilege,  69 

St.  Louis  Cathedral,  91 

St.   Mark's   Hall,    93;     schedule, 

93,96 
St.  Mark's  Methodist  Episcopal 

Church,  South,  90 
Salaries,  17;  ministers',  18,  20 


San  Francisco,  14 

Salvation,  72;  individual,  i,  132; 
personal,  31;  social,  132 

Sanitation,  71,  104 

Scandinavian,  5 

School,  84,  88;  building,  84 

Schools,  57 

Scientific:  agriculture,  84;  farm- 
ing, 69,  104;  method,  64 

Scientists,  63 

Scribner's,  August,  1918,  35 

Secretaries,  Y.M.C.A.,  35 

Sectarian:  competition,  89;  con- 
tention, 9;  division,  89 

Sectarianism,  22,  s3,  46,  75,  88, 

103 
Sectarians,  104 
Section  hand,  78 
Sects,  7,  84,  86,  89 
Secular,  106 
Secular  press,  39 
Self-supporting,  9 
Sermon  on  the  Mount,  1 26 
Servant  girl,  78 
Serve:    all  the  people,   130;    the 

whole  community,  130 

Service,  33,  34,  42,  43,  126,  130; 
to  whole  community,  91,  96,  130 

Sewing  class,  94,  95,  115,  116 

Shibboleth,  38 

Short  course,  106 

Shower  baths,  89,  95 

Sierra,  California,  125 

Silos,  84 

Sicilians,  113 

Sleeping  rooms,  80 

Small,  Albion  W.,  31 

Social:  activities,  88;  adapt- 
ability, 2;  betterment,  30,  32, 
102;  center,  104;  change,  121; 
conception  of  church's  mission, 
31;  forces,  88,  99;  group,  100; 
ideal,  69;  inefficiency,  8;  insti- 
tutions,   54;     intercourse,    88; 


INDEX 


167 


life,    69,    87;     movement,    54; 

reformation,  32;    revolution,  i; 

righteousness,  37;    salvation,  i, 

31,    32;     settlements,    26,    93; 

situation  existing,  1,2;  welfare, 

99 
Social  and  program  hour,  107 
Social  Ideals  and  Unity  of  Religious 

Forces,  Howard  E.  Jensen,  32, 

48,  99 
Social  process,  the,  31 
Social  service,  99,  102;  center,  100 
Socials,  106 
Society:    American,  i;    detached, 

99;  human,  54 
Soldiers,     35,     36,     90;      pagan 

Roman,  7 
South,  the,  12,  93 
Spanish,  91,  93,  96 
Special  meetings,  106 
Spirit:    of  Christ,  100;    of  unity, 

35,  36,  42 
Spiritual  needs,  69,  91;  solidarity, 

140 
Stables,  93 

Standard  of  living,  100 
State  federations,  21;  of  churches, 

49;     Maine,    Ohio,    California, 

and  Massachusetts,  50 
Statement     of    Principles,    Home 

Mission  Council,  Western  Wash- 
ington, 49,  50 
Struggle,    for    individual    church 

supremacy,  9 
Struggling  churches,  74 
Student  Volunteer  Movement  of 

the  United  States  and  Canada, 

43  _  _ 
Subdivisions,  minor,  6 

Suburban  communities,  107 

Suggestions  for    State    and    Local 

Federation,      Alfred      Williams 

Anthony,  131 

Sunday  schools,   41,   42,    74,   96, 

loi,  104,  106 
Supply  Store,  94 


Survey,  Charles  Cole,  99 

Survey   of  Lane   County,   Oregon, 

Ayers  and  Morse,  12,  65 
Survey  of  Windsor  County,  Ohio, 

C.  O.  Gill,  23 
Surveys,    7,    49,    61,    63;     Lane 

County,  Oregon,  11,  17;    state, 

46;    Windsor  County,  Ohio,  23 

Tabernacle,  89 

Talbot,  Ethelbert,  121,  129 

Teachers,  106;  Institute,  67 

Team  play,  133,  134 

Telephone,  87 

Temporary  building,  90 

Tent,  90 

Test,  credal,  130 

Theology,  123 

Theoretical  differences,  134 

Thrift,  47 

Todd,  Earl  Marion,  89 

Tolerance,  27 

Toleration,  38 

Topeka,  Kansas,  49 

Tourist  resort,  69 

Town:     large,    12;     of    Sheridan, 

Illinois,    82;     one-church    and 

three-church,  19 
Township:    center,    107;     school, 

105 
Townships,  11,  58 
Traditional  momentum,  33 
Tragedy,  107 
Tramp,  67 
Tuberculosis,  104 
Types,  44,  98;    of  open  country 

churches,     82;      of     large-city 

churches,    82;     of    village    and 

small- town  churches,  82 
Types  of  Rural  Churches,   C.   J. 

Galpin,  103 

Underliving  wage,  18 
Undivided  services,  15 


1 68 


THE  COMMUNITY  CHURCH 


Unification  of  religious  work,  21 

Union,  104;  organic,  120 

Union  Community  Church,  81 

Unitarian,  89 

Unite,  the  call  to,  47 

United  Christendom,  49 

United  Christianity,  76 

United  Lutheran  Church  in 
America,  44 

United  Presbyterian  Church, 
Pittsburgh,  64 

United  Society  of  Christian  En- 
deavor, 43 

United  States,  97;  Catholics  in, 
84;  Home  Mission  Boards  and 
Societies  in,  46 

United  Synod,  South,  44 

Unity,  I,  3,  27,  34,  38,  43,  45,  46, 
67,  84,  87,  88,  128,  129,  132, 
^33,  135,  136;  Christian,  29, 
39;  denominational,  i,  2,  3,  28, 
37,  48,  126,  129,  132,  133,  135, 
136;  in  religious  administration, 
87;  of  action,  141,  142;  of  hfe 
and  action,  47,  50;  organic,  141; 
practical  Christian,  124;  prob- 
blem  of,  2;  religious,  122;  spirit 
of,  35,  36,  42;    working,  19,  28 

Universalist,  9 

Unoccupied  fields,  47 

Urbanization  of  population,  i 

Vaccinations,  95,  96 

Variation  in  communities,  loi 

Vaudeville,  104 

Ventilation,  93 

Vieux  Carre,  91 

Village,  8,  9,  58,  103;   church,  61 

Vision,    69;     nation-wide,   and   a 

world-wide,  47 
Visiting  nurse,  no 
Vitality,  low,  93 
Vocational  activities,  102 
Vogt,  Paul  L.,  99 


Volley  ball,  no 
Volunteer  workers,  114 

Waidle,  A.  W.,  90 

War,  the,  i,  35,  36,  37,  no,  133 

Washington,  16 

Washington  Park  Community 
Church,  82 

Waste,  27,  28,  64;  economic,  72; 
elimination  of,  16,  21,  29;  of 
finer  emotion,  22;  of  money,  45, 
64,  73;  of  money  and  man 
power,  16,  17,  19,  20,  21,  22, 
64,  73;  of  moral  power,  22;  of 
power,  16;  of  rehgious  enthusi- 
asm, 22;  prevention  of,  46; 
to  the  mission  boards,  19 

Waterloo,  Iowa,  66,  73 

Waterworks,  84 

Wauconda  Community  Church, 
81 

Wauconda,  Illinois,  69,  71 

Weather  vanes,  82 

Welfare,  70,  86,  100;  common, 
134,  140,  141,  142;  community, 
142,  143;  general,  131,  135, 
140,  141,  143;  human,  140,  144; 
social,  133;  social  group,  99; 
social  physical,  61 

Well  being,  man's,  62 

Wells,  George  Frederick,  72,  73 

Western  Washington  Home  Mis- 
sion Council,  49 

Whole  community,  loi 

Willett,  Herbert  L.,  37 

Wilson,  Warren  H.,  34,  122,  124 

Wind  mills,  84 

Windsor  County,  Ohio,  23 

Winnetka,  Illinois,  76,  81,  107, 
125 

Wisconsin  University  Bulletin, 
C.  J.  Galpin,  86 

Woman's  Missionary  Council,  91, 
93 

Women's  club,  116 


INDEX 


169 


Women's  Missionary  Society,  108 
Woodlawn  Baptist  Church,  82 
Woodwork,  95;  Club,  95 
Workers:    paid,    114;    volunteer, 

114 
World:    builders,    104;    program, 

121 


Yearbook  of  the  Federal  Council  of 
Churches  of  Christ  in  America, 
5,  6,  47,  48 

Y.M.C.A.,  33,  35,  42,  90 

Young  Men's  Club,  106 

Young  people's  meetings,  102,  104 

Youths,  108 


Year     Book     and     Directory     of 
Members,  76 


Zenos,  Andrew  C,  63 
Zimmerman,  W.  B.,  125 


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